lic institution of higher learning and as a source of desperately needed teachers without improvement in the physical facilities. The proposal before this committee would lead the way to the development of a multi-purpose school with liberal arts and teacher education programs embodied in the four-year liberal arts college. 2. It seems to me to be terribly important for Washington to be abreast of what's going on in all other parts of the country in terms of the community and four-year college programs. All other major cities have publicly supported community colleges. All of the 50 states and most territories, including the Virgin Islands and Guam, provide publicly supported higher education. The bill as proposed would take us a great step forward in bringing the Nation's Capital in line with other jurisdictions in its program of post high school education. 3. The need for the two institutions is urgent. An increasing number of our young people plan to go on to college and as the competition for college space increases, many will be deprived of the opportunity for future education. When our citizens are not fully educated, they suffer personal losses and the community and the country also lose because the potential productivity has been cut back. The business community in Washington has joined educators and civic groups in support of this legislation, recognizing that a viable economy cannot survive and expand without skilled technicians and trained professionals. I am, therefore, urgently pleading for support of H.R. 16958. statement? Dr. COOKE. Yes, Mr. Chairman. STATEMENT OF DR. PAUL COOKE, PRESIDENT, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TEACHERS COLLEGE Dr. COOKE. Mr. Chairman, my name is Paul Cooke. A number of significant statements have already been made which also appear in my prepared statement. Rather than read the entire statement, which covers a great deal which has already been presented to you, I would like to pick out some significant things that I believe would be of importance to you. Mr. DowDY. That will be quite satisfactory. Your entire statement will be made a part of the record. (Dr. Cooke's complete statement follows:) PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION A STATEMENT ON H.R. 16958 AND OTHER BILLS TO AUTHORIZE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PUBLIC COMMUNITY AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE AND PUBLIC COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Presented to the Committee on the District of Columbia, U.S. House of Representatives, by Dr. Paul Cooke, President, District of Columbia Teachers College, Monday, September 12, 1966 TESTIMONY ON PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, my name is Paul Cooke, and I serve as President of the District of Columbia Teachers College. I should like to offer strong and vigorous support of the major concepts of the legislation for public higher education in this city, including H.R. 16958, H.R. 7395, and S. 293—which all proposed for the first time for the voteless citizens of the Nation's Capital a broad system of public higher education. The legislation bristles with vital and important clauses to provide a Board of Higher Education and two colleges-a four-year college and a community college-which people here have long awaited. At the same time the legislation assures the citizens they will continue to benefit from teachers fully prepared on a college level by a public institution in this city. Witnesses appearing before this Committee have testified and will testify with reference to the urgent need for the establishment of a public community college and a public four-year college of arts and sciences in the District of Columbia. Statistics have been presented that show that the District lags far behind the fifty states in providing educational opportunities beyond the secondary level for its citizens. The District can well afford to construct and operate both institutions. It is also evident that many of the young people of the District will be unable to achieve completely their educational and occupational potentials until these institutions are established. In my testimony today, I shall report the reactions of the administrative staff and faculty of the District of Columbia Teachers College with reference to the proposed legislation. I shall also report their conclusions with reference to the types of educational programs that should characterize each of the proposed institutions. On January 5, 1966, the faculty of the District of Columbia Teachers College voted unanimously in favor of the creation of a comprehensive community (or junior) college and of a college of liberal arts and sciences as recommended by the President's Committee on Public Higher Education and as provided for in the bills currently before this Senate Committee. The faculty favored the recommendation to merge the D.C. Teachers College into the new college of arts and sciences. They believe that the present program of teacher education would be strengthened by placing it in a liberal arts setting where those preparing to teach would be in close association and in academic competition with those preparing for other professions. I am here today to testify in favor of the creation of the two new colleges referred to above and which are provided for in several bills, including H. R. 16958, a bill to establish a Board of Higher Education to plan, establish, organize, and operate a public community college and a public college of arts and sciences in the District of Columbia. A community the size of the District of Columbia with 4000-5000 graduates of the public high schools annually and with from 1200 to 1500 graduates of the private and parochial high schools should, without questions, have publicly supported higher education which includes more than teacher education. At the beginning of my testimony, Mr. Chairman, I want to express my enthusiastic support of the concept of a Board of Higher Education with so much freedom to organize and administer the proposed colleges. This is a very commendable feature of the bill and a condition which is essential for the healthy growth of the two colleges. I am concerned that any legislation protect the tenure rights, retirement benefits earned to date, and the health and insurance benefits of the faculty of the District of Columbia Teachers College. If the Teachers College is merged into the college of arts and sciences under a Board of Higher Education, the faculty must be covered by an adequate Salary Act, tenure rights, retirement benefits, and health and life insurance benefits. The faculty should not lose any benefits now enjoyed as employees of the Board of Education if and when they come under the Board of Higher Education. The legislation should include laboratory schools in the transfer of program to the Board of Higher Education. These laboratory schools constitute an integral part of the teacher education program, which would be part of the new college of arts and sciences. The laboratory faculty members are members of the College faculty and hold rank thereon. COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES Surveys of high school seniors indicate that there are a substantial number of students who graduate from the high schools in the District who are able to profit by a four-year general college education but who cannot do so because of cost. They deserve an opportunity for a college education equal to that available to high school students throughout the United States. Public higher education on the degree-granting level must no longer be limited to teacher education in the District of Columbia. This is undemocratic and indefensible. Goals The educational goals of the college of arts and sciences would be similar to those of good liberal arts colleges elsewhere. The college would be organized and administered to serve the people of Washington. The College's most valuable contribution will be the graduation of a person who can think for himself and who can identify and grapple with his problems and those of society. The College will provide a program helping his ability to think and offering the subject matter in communication and social sciences, the sciences and mathematics, in foreign languages and the humanities-the subject matter as basis for thinking and for further development. The program, while including teacher education, would not be limited to this area of preparation as is that of the Teachers College. Students with no interest in teacher preparation would be able to complete majors in academic areas of study. The college of arts and sciences with a student body of college-able students would be thorough in its instructional program, and sound academic education would be a primary objective. Admission The college of arts and sciences would differ in its admission policy from the community college. High school graduates who are college-ready would be admitted. They would be selected upon the basis of the secondary school record, recommendation of the principal or counselor, performance on an entrance examination, personal interview, and other evidence of serious desire for a college education. The privilege of transferring from the community college to the college of arts and sciences should be available to students who show they are "college-able.' Transfer, graduate, and inservice students would be required to meet standards of admission comparable to those in other colleges and universities. It is estimated that the student body would be comprised of 2,500 undergraduate students and 1,000 or more graduate and inservice teachers. It is anticipated that the college would enroll a substantial number of students in the late afternoon, evening, and Saturday program as well as those in the regular day program. The substantial increase in enrollment at the Teachers College this month suggests the reality of these figures. Freshmen new to the College increased more than 20% to 232 and overall enrollment increased 25.3% to 891 day undergraduate students. Persons in the evening program have not yet enrolled for this year. Curriculums At the outset the college of arts and sciences would concentrate on offering a strong core of basic liberal studies: the sciences-physics, chemistry, biology; mathematics; the social sciences-history, geography, anthropology, economics, sociology, government; the humanities-English, literature, speech; foreign languages French and Spanish; the fine arts-art, music, drama. The professional program of teacher preparation would remain about the same as in the present teachers college, except that it would be adapted also to meet needs of children in "inner city schools." Course offerings leading to the master's degree would be added as directed by the Board of Higher Education. We are aware that the objectives of a liberal arts college differ from those of a teachers college and that careful thought must be given to this aspect of the new institution. As the D. C. Teachers College program provides for a strong base of liberal studies, and is so recognized by the regional accrediting association, orientation of the faculty to a liberal arts program would not be difficult. In the past, single-purpose teachers colleges have moved into a multi-purpose program. With curriculums which emphasize liberal studies, with strong subject matter and professional division, and with a faculty well prepared in subject matter and in professional education, the base of a new multi-purpose institution of higher education, as authorized in S. 293, already exists in the District of Columbia Teachers College. The College is now organizing to develop and provide broad outlines for the four-year program of arts and sciences. For example, the Division of English, my own field, will outline a program in that discipline appropriate for an English major in a college of arts and sciences-while the Division continues to meet its responsibility of designing the best program to prepare persons to teach English. The College recognizes, of course, that the proposed Board of Higher Education has the responsibility of developing a "detailed plan." We Continuing Education. The College is pleased with the provision for a "continuing education." As a part of the Higher Education Title I Committee of the Consortium of Washington Universities, The District of Columbia Teachers College held two "continuing education" training programs in group relations for education and other District Government supervisors just last month. believe they were profitable to the participants and illustrate one direction of continuing education. We see a substantial need for continuing education training programs for the school teacher's aides, authorized by the Congress in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Education and Mobility of Persons States and municipalities are no longer provincial but maintain a reciprocal relationship in the ends they seek through higher education. Modern mobility is such that an architect educated in Oregon may serve the people of Kentucky, or a scientist educated in Virginia may use his scientific knowledge in Colorado. A teacher educated at the District of Columbia Teachers College or the new Public College may teach in Minnesota or South Carolina. Individuals educated in any part of the country may serve in some other area, or even in another land. Thus every state has the responsibility to provide diversified education for its citizens so that not only the nation but the world may benefit from their education. And the District must share in this responsibility through its system of public higher education. The states over the years have found no substitute for publicly supported higher education for their citizens and neither can the District of Columbia. Both public and private institutions are needed in our complex civilization. Each has and will continue to make a distinct contribution to services to youth and adults. It is, I believe, an accepted fact that a democratic system of higher education need not accord all students the privilege of attending the same kinds of institutions any more than its need permit all to pursue the same curriculums. The important thing is that equal opportunity is accorded to every American to attain the highest level of education of which he is capable. Education is the most profitable investment society can make and "the richest reward it can confer." Master's Degree The Board of Education for this city requires that teachers in the public high schools hold the master's degree. The public college should be able to prepare these teachers completely-not simply through the bachelor's degree but beyond. Teachers should be able to earn the master's degree in subject matter areas; a strong four-year arts and sciences program must be capped by a similar master's degree offering. We also know that both the Federal and District governments find that on certain levels the better prepared person, often through the master's degree level, serves their needs more effectively. NEW PHYSICAL PLANT NEEDED FOR PUBLIC COLLEGE To house the public college of arts and sciences, a new physical plant is imperative. By definition of the new college to include teacher education, the physical needs of teacher preparation will be covered by a satisfactory plant. We cannot reasonably consider using two plants built fifty years ago as normal schools for a city whose population was less than half of today's 800 plus thousand for the new college program. The Public has considered many sites-the Bureau of Standards, the Soldiers Home (where public buildings are already located), the National Training School, Bolling Air Base, the urban renewal area north of the Capitol, a downtown block near the Municipal Center. Certainly one of these sites should be made available and planning can begin. THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE By 1970 this nation can expect to provide education for its young people and adults in 1,000 community colleges, according to the Director of the American Association of Junior Colleges (American School and University, September 1966, p. 18). We can look for forty new colleges "to open their doors this month." Will the Nation's Capital join this national direction? And provide an education generally not now available to the citizens of the District of Columbia? And especially for those persons who might otherwise might have ended their education with high school? We urge the Congress to answer these questions with authorization for a community college to offer general, technical, and vocational education.* Admission The community college would be organized and administered to accommodate persons with a wide range of abilities, educational backgrounds, and career goals. No one with the ability to profit from education beyond high school should be excluded. Students would be admitted to a particular curriculum and should be qualified to pursue successfully the curriculum. The educational goal of the student would determine the high school preparation or the work experience required for admission to a curriculum. The four-year college of arts and sciences, on the other hand, should establish and maintain admission requirements far more rigid than those proposed here for the community college. Recognition of Individual Differences.-The implementation of a more liberal admission policy for the community college will undoubtedly result in some students less capable in the traditional academic areas. The acceptance of this fact should not mean that attendance at this college will involve the stigmatization of those who are admitted to it for their post-secondary school education. The recognition of individual differences in interests and capabilities has been responsible for the establishment of our vocational high schools. We should recognize that individual differences in interests and capabilities continue beyond the secondary school level. Community colleges are designed primarily to provide postsecondary school education for those who are interested to pursue various careers in business and in other semiprofessional areas. The community college provides opportunities for these individuals to prepare themselves for positions of a managerial, technical, or semiprofessional type. This is the reason for its existence. Few people with a background of information in the field of higher education would ever attempt to justify the existence of a public community college just to provide the first two years of general education to prepare a student for transfer to a four-year college or university. Transfer curriculums will, however, be provided. Curriculums Technical education, at the subprofessional level, is a major employment need in the District of Columbia, as elsewhere; therefore, two-year occupational curriculums in the community college would be geared to local employment needs and their completion would provide the base for the economic improvement of many young men and women in the District now untrained for productive careers. Every effort would be made to establish curriculums in keeping with the 1963 "Area Skills Survey" and of subsequent surveys of the educational needs in the District. The 1966-67 Skills Survey now in progress will yield further information. Relation to Public Schools and to Other Local Needs.-As part of the public school system in the District, the programs offered in the community college would be related to the programs in the senior and vocational high schools in such a way as to give maximum encouragement to high school students to prepare for and to look forward to continuing their education in the college. Thus the doors of the college would be open to adults, as well as to high school graduates, who need to improve their skills or to retrain themselves for changing job specifications or for new employment opportunities. Similarly others who desire to remedy their educational deficiences or enrich themselves culturally would be encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities offered in their community college. One bill provides for "continuing education" in the community college as well as in the college of arts and sciences. Need for Skilled and Semiskilled Workers.-The U.S. Department of Labor has estimated that the number of professional semiprofessional, and technical workers will increase by more than forty per cent and that the number of workers in clerical and sales position will increase by twenty-six per cent during the next decade. The public community college is the institution best fitted to provide the education needed by semiprofessional, technical, clerical, and sales personnel at the least expense to the student and his parents. The extensive study of educational needs in the District just completed by Odell MacConnell Associates provides ample evidence of the need for postsecondary education. One volume of their report, Educational Specifications for the Vocational-Technical-Occupational Center, shows graphically in Appendix 1 the need for associate degree programs in community colleges and other institu*The President's Committee on Public Higher Education in the District of Columbia recommended two separate institutions, a recommendation which in my judgment is sound. |