The establishment of a "general examination" at Harvard marks an important stage in a revolution which, for almost two decades, has been slowly but surely transforming educational methods. In one sense the movement is a reaction. against the elective system which was very generally adopted by American universities. In another and more important aspect it is forward-looking and new.

The elective system was made practically necessary by the huge expansion of the field of knowledge which took place in the nineteenth century. It was no longer possible to make any pretense that a four-year curriculum could supply the elixir of all learning "in a pint pot." A certain range of choice was inevitable. The wide expansion of the system, however, which opened up virtually all subjects to the student's choice, was the result of a theory, an educational dogma. This dogma was of Teutonic origin-a result of the "scientific culture" of modern Germany. Method was exalted above character. It was held that all learning was of equal educational value, provided only that it was scientifically pursued. History became a searching of documents; literature became philology. Shakespeare and Chaucer were no more important than the dullest Middle-English dialect. The result was that the field of learning was divided into innumerable "courses" and "half courses," the Theory of Photography counting as much for a degree as the basic principles of biology. A systematic, organic grouping of studies was difficult. An American university education became a thing of shreds and patches. The utmost it

offered was a training in scientific method. The character, the mind, and the imagination of the student were ignored.

From the outset of his Presidency at Harvard, in 1909, Lawrence Lowell set his face steadfastly against all this. While still allowing a considerable freedom of election, so that education remained adequately comprehensive, his method required the student to group and organize the major portion of his studies within a single field. It was a step toward the famous "honour schools" of the English universities, in which the student concentrates upon the classics, history, English language and literature, or any one of half a dozen general subjects. A similar step already had been taken in many American universities.

The new general examination will crown and fortify this group system. As President Lowell says, the plan "has attracted wide attention, and would seem to be a notable advance in American educational methods." Hitherto, under both the elective system and the ancient curriculum, the examinations have been by separate course, the paper being set by the professor in each of them, and the student being held responsible mainly for such knowledge only as had been imparted in the lectures. They were largely tests of memory, and were scattered through the four years of undergraduate life. As a system it was identical with that by which a Sunday school pupil who collects enough good-conduct checks can enjoy all the privileges of the June picnic. Hereafter Harvard will award its degrees, as Oxford and Cambridge do, on the basis of a "a general, final examination in the undergraduate's field of concentration." The questions will cover not only what has been imparted in the several courses, but the subject as a whole. Out side reading will form an important part of the student's preparation, and one of the prime requisites will be an ability to digest knowledge and present it effectively. "The aim is to fasten attention on the subject as a whole, rather than on isolated fragments of it; to lead the student to co-ordinate the information he obtains." The scientific method will doubtless still be observed; special reports and theses will still form a part of undergraduate training. But a breadth in grasp of fundamentals and ability in the use of knowledge will be equally requisite.

The university thus acknowledges a responsibility of "developing so far as possible the student's capacity for a useful and fruitful life." Where the elective system laid emphasis upon a general method, the new system aims primarily at developing the individual man.  NEW YOUR TIMES