XVII. Matriculation and Entrance Requirements
At the beginning of the Ninth Period, 1904, the
annual session opened on the Thursday which preceded
the seventeenth of September; and, with an interval of
ten days for recess at Christmas, continued until the
Wednesday that preceded the nineteenth of June.
Under the custom prevailing at this time, the new
student, so soon as he arrived at the University, repaired
to Madison Hall, where he obtained information
about boarding-houses, lodgings, and the method of
matriculating. He was required by the rules to report
his presence to the dean of the University within the
ensuing three days. By that official, he was called upon
to submit a certificate of good moral character, either
conferred by the institution which he had last attended
or given by some person of respectable standing. He
was expected next, on the same occasion, to hand over
a diploma or certificate as proof of scholastic preparation;
and if he could show neither the one nor the other,
he was required to pass an entrance examination.
Having fulfilled any one of these conditions, he received
a card from the University dean, with the direction to
carry it to the dean of the department in which he wished
to be enrolled; who, having questioned him and found
his replies satisfactory, gave him a second card to be
delivered to the different professors associated with that
department; and all of these having, in succession,
interrogated him on the subjects taught in their several
schools, and discovered him to be properly informed,
his name was written down in their rosters. The card
was then carried back to the dean of the University,
who jotted upon it the amount of fees to be paid by the
holder; and this card, so inscribed, was taken by the
latter to the bursar, and the entire sum so designated
turned over to that officer in cash or by check.
The first lectures were delivered on the ensuing
Monday; and on the following Tuesday evening, a
reception was given in Madison Hall to the new students,
at which refreshments were served by the ladies of the
University. On Wednesday evening, the young men
assembled en masse, and for the benefit of those who
had matriculated for the first time, a series of addresses
were made by older students on various aspects of college
activities,—such as the magazine, the several smaller
journals, the Honor System, and the like. The new
students also then received their earliest lessons towards
learning the college songs and the college yells. At one
time, on an appointed day, all the first-year matriculates
were required to be present at three o'clock
in the public hall; and here the members of each division
were presented by the dean of that division to the
President,—who, subsequently, welcomed the whole
body into the hospitable fold of the University.
We have mentioned incidentally that every new
student, in order to gain admission to the institution,
was compelled to hand in a diploma or certificate from
the college or school which he had previously attended,
or to pass successfully the prescribed written examination.
This scheme of entrance requirements was made obligatory
in September, 1905, just one year after the first
President's administration began. The resolution in
favor of its adoption had been affirmed during the preceding
October. The object of these requirements was to ensure
the admission of a more thoroughly equipped set
of students, and also to bind the secondary schools more
closely and helpfully to the University.
What was the general character of the diploma, the
certificate, and the written examination? The character
of the diploma and the certificate underwent a number
of superficial changes during the Ninth Period, but only
the subjects of the written examinations were substantially
altered from time to time. The diploma must
have been given by an institution of collegiate rank.
The certificate also must have been received from such
an institution, or from an accredited school, public or
private, which offered courses in harmony with the requirements
laid down by the State Board of Education.
If the certificate was from a school situated beyond the
borders of Virginia, that school must have been included
in the list of those accredited by the State University,
or some other important institution, of the commonwealth
in which it was situated. In 1915–16, the condition was
laid down that the certificate must, if given by a public
school, show that the recipient had graduated after
pursuing a course of four years, while the certificate
from the private school must indicate substantially the
same achievement. In 1909, a certificate from the
summer school was made acceptable within the discretion
of the dean of the University.
The regular examinations for admission occurred
annually in June and September. Those which were
held in September were held at the University, while
those held in June were held in the accredited schools,
and were based on papers which the University had
transmitted to the headmasters of these schools. Such
papers were afterwards returned. The Honor System
was enforced in the examination-room while the answers
were preparing.
The general examination, when first introduced, embraced
such a test of knowledge of English as had been
fixed by the entrance requirements adopted by the
Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the
Southern States; the like test of knowledge of certain
of the simpler branches of mathematics; and the like
test of knowledge also of two elementary courses belonging
to any two of the following subjects: the Latin,
Greek, French, German and Spanish languages, history,
physical geography, algebra, geometry, plane trigonometry,
astronomy, physics, chemistry, and botany.
By 1908–09, the requirements for admission by examination
had been increased to the extent of one hundred
and fifty per cent. It was said that they were as severe
as those prescribed in the most exacting American
universities. In a general way, it may be stated that,
at this time, the examinations to be passed were to be in
certain branches of English, mathematics, and history,
and in addition, in any four of the following courses:
the Latin, Greek, German, French, and Spanish languages,
science, and applied mathematics. This rule
was still in force in 1915–17. The requirements were
now gauged in units, a unit being taken as the equivalent
of one full year of high school work embracing five
periods weekly of not less than forty minutes each.
During the session of 1916–17, the number of units
assigned was increased from fourteen to fifteen. It had
previously been twelve.
Besides the general examinations, there were examinations
for classification. These were held at the University
alone, and were restricted to September. In the
beginning, they were pertinent only to the following
academic schools: the Latin, Greek, Teutonic and
Romanic languages, English literature, historical and
economical science, pure mathematics, applied mathematics,
astronomy, and natural philosophy. The candidate
who passed in any one or more of these examinations
for classification was absolved from standing the
corresponding general examinations.
One of the objects which the entrance requirements
had in view was the encouragement of cordial relations
between the University and the secondary schools. The
innovation was fully successful in accomplishing this
purpose. One of the few complaints that were heard
from the principals of these schools previous to 1907
was that the standards of the requirements were too low.
This, however, was removed by the more rigid tests
which went into effect in June, 1908, and June, 1909.
Several headmasters in the private academies were of
the opinion that certain collegiate branches in
mathematics, and in the Latin, English, French, and
German languages, should be transferred to the
secondary schools; but the authorities of the University
of Virginia declared that "it would be wrong to have
the academic work in a State university begin at a point
which was utterly unattainable by the best public high
schools of the State." Some of the principals also
counseled the abolition of the certificate altogether, and
the enforcement of written examinations in the case of
every entering student. This suggestion also was received
with disapproval, on the ground that experience
had shown that the natural and logical way to transfer
a pupil from one member of the public school system
to another,—whether this was from the primary or
grammar school to the high school, or from the high
school to the University,—was by a carefully adjusted
method of certificates.
It was acknowledged that the regulation had its flaws,
—for instance, a small percentage of students annually
brought out the fact that their previous drilling had been
inadequate,—but, taken as a whole, "the entrance requirements,"
in the opinion of the Faculty, in 1916–17,
"had, after being in force during a period of twelve
years, been justified by their results." Applicants for
matriculation who had left behind their twentieth birthday
and could prove that their preparation for the
courses which they wished to pursue was entirely satisfactory,
were permitted to join these classes without
having first passed the examination normally demanded;
but they were denied the right to become candidates for
a degree. Such applicants were compelled to stand the
regular classification examination, however, before they
could be admitted to any school in which that examination
was required.
