Certainly the meaning of these figures is limited. A positive trend awaits verification by future studies, but these data would seem to indicate a slow, rather consistent expansion in the use of women in junior-college classrooms. Such movement would be a natural consequence of employing officers' answers to the question, Do you consider that qualified women, if available, might be used in larger numbers on your instructional staff?

Table 25 shows that 68.1 percent of the answers are positive; 73.5 percent of the public and 58.3 percent of the nonpublic junior colleges. The table also shows the specific interes of employing officials on a field-by-field basis. Most frequent was the answer that more women might be used in all fields (except, of course, the vocationaltechnical). Next in frequency came English, mathematics, general social science, the unspecified natural sciences, and foreign languages, in that order.

Despite the indication that women may receive wider recognition in the future staffing of many junior colleges, fully one-fourth (26.5 percent) of the employing officers in the public, and 2 of every 5 (41.7 percent) in the nonpublic junior colleges do not designate any specific field in which more women should be used. Thus this source of supply is yet to prove itself as a possible major factor in relieving the shortages of qualified teachers for the fast-growing junior colleges.

What About Inservice Upgrading?

If, as the available data seem to indicate, the institutions of higher education must continue to

induct into classroom service many new teachers with limited preparation, what can be done to improve their qualifications on the job? Is provision being made for leaves of absence, and do teachers in service pursue advanced study through summer-school attendance, extension courses, workshops, seminars, and other organized channels?

Here the evidence coming from junior colleges is somewhat encouraging. During 1960-61, a total of 415 teachers (280 men and 135 women) were on authorized leaves of absence for half or the full year. True, this is a small percent of the 15,438 teachers in full-time junior-college service, but within this group were no fewer than 3432 (2583 men and 849 women) who earned advanced credits through some type of university study. These teachers-22.2 percent of the total fulltime corps-merit recognition for their aggressive efforts toward self-improvement while carrying full loads. It is a substantial step to offset the induction of new teachers with less than the desired preparation.

Compulsory Retirement Age

Prominent in the demand for new teachers is the need to replace those who withdraw from classroom service, and prominent among the reasons for withdrawal is retirement on attaining an age designated by the employing institution. A majority, but not all, of the junior colleges maintain regulations governing compulsory retirement. In the preceding section the policies of universities and colleges were described.

Table 26 shows that of the 530 reporting junior colleges, 360 (67.9 percent) have com

pulsory retirement age limits, 112 (21.1 percent) do not, and 58 (11.0 percent) did not respond to the question. In both the public and nonpublic institutions age 65 was reported most frequently (197, or 37.2 percent); a close second, however, is age 70 (144, or 27.2 percent). Only a few have any other designated age; at one extreme is a single public junior college designating age 62, and at the other extreme is a single nonpublic junior college in which age 80 is the rule. Among the 112 reporting that no regulation is in operation and the 58 not reporting are probably a con

siderable number of junior colleges supported by religious groups and staffed by dedicated per sonnel.

No information is available concerning recent changes in institutional rules, and thus a trend toward compulsory retirement at an earlier or a later age cannot be reported at this time. This item will, however, be included in the future Research Division studies of junior-college teacher supply and demand, along with a broad study of teacher turnover as a factor in the annual total requirements for new personnel.

What should be the qualifications of a candidate for a college teaching position? Personal characteristics? Always of great importance. Experience? Generally an asset if successful; sometimes required. But what about scholarly attainments-advanced degrees held?

Without question, it is the overriding desire of practically every employing official to strive for improvement in the quality of instruction in the classroom through the employment of new staff members with more-than-average, rather than less-than-average formal preparation. And as the fields of knowledge grow more complex, the search for new teachers with fuller preparation goes on apace. True, the subject to be taught and the level of instruction (from freshman to graduate) are factors to be considered. Also, the major function of the institution dictates the intensity of emphasis upon graduate study as a major element in the over-all qualifications of the candidate. But the evidence presented in the preceding sections of this report is unmistakable. During the eight years of record a vast number of

Hundreds