(3) Equality in financial aid will not increase the cost of financial aid per student as the relative number of women increases. In the immediate future, the cost per student is in fact likely to decrease as the result of differing financial needs of men and women in the present pools.

(4) In the past women students have tended to concentrate more in the humanities and less in the more mathematical subjects of the natural and social sciences. While special recruiting efforts to enrich the applicant pool with women interested in these subjects can minimize the effect of these tendencies, they are likely to exist for some time to come. This could pose a problem of proper utilization of University resources if there were sudden, large changes in the number of women. While recommending an overall increase in the number of women students, we believe that this increase will be sufficiently gradual so that special recruiting efforts for both men and women applicants interested in the affected fields and small adjustments in admission policies can prevent the consequences in this general area of an increasing number of women students from becoming serious.

We believe that an admission policy based on equal access is in the best interest of the University and of its constituents, and that implementation starting with the Class of 1980 is both practical and desirable.

Needs of Coeducation:

We recommend that the men to women student ratio be reduced from the present ratio of 2.5:1, and that the increased number of women be admitted within a policy of equal access. Success in reaching this goal will require an enlarged pool of qualified women applicants, and correspondingly more vigorous recruiting efforts will be necessary.

We believe firmly that implementation of a policy of equal access admissions coupled with increased recruiting efforts, will yield the desired results but we cannot be certain because this depends to a large extent on the future evolution of the national and local pools of potential women applicants. In the admission process, small fluctuations in characteristics of the applicant pool can at least partially be taken care of by small adjustments in the evaluation process. We do not expect that implementation of the equal access policy will increase the men to women ratio above the present value. On the contrary, we expect it to decrease. Other universities similar to Harvard with a tradition of equal access admissions now have a 1.5:1 ratio; we expect similar progress here within a reasonable period.

We believe that the advantages of increasing the number of women under conditions where both education and admission do not differentiate among the sexes are considerable, infact philosophically it is hard to defend admissions under a quota system followed by education without regard to sex. The recommended method for increasing the number of women students is the most likely to yield a class which can best profit from the resources of the University and thus, in the future, best serve society. By being equally fair to all concerned, we expect the increase in the number of women under equal access to proceed without undue difficulties and to command wide support from all segments of the University Community.

To increase the pool of qualified women applicants significantly will require leadership from Cambridge and much effort, particularly from alumni and alumnae, it is encouraging that between 1970 and 1974 the Radcliffe applicant pool has increased from 2548 to 3388. In the same period, the Harvard applicant pool has remained stationary at an average of about 7650.

The special recruiting efforts will be one of the most important tasks of the unified admissions organization working closely with alumnae and alumni organizations.

With these considerations in mind, we recommend that the progress in increasing the number of women students be reviewed at the end of a three-year period of equal access admissions and special recruiting efforts. This review should be conducted by a committee appointed by the Presidents of Harvard and Radcliffe, or through such mechanism as seems appropriate to them.

Women on the Faculty

The importance in a coeducational institution of substantial representation of both sexes among the teaching faculty and the administration surely does not need to be stressed again. It has been well expressed and studied with particular reference to Harvard and Radcliffe in the 1971 Report of the Committee on the Status of Women in the Faculty

The need for "role models" came up frequently during our discussion of coeducational needs but considering all the previous attention given to this topic we can add little that is new

There has been some progress, particularly in the number of women tutors in the Houses which has increased from 70 in 1970 to 152 in 1973. In many other parts of the University the change has been much more gradual Realistically, because of the large differences in sizes of relevant pools, the pace of change must be expected to be slow in certain sectors of the University.

In other sectors, such as among administrators, and particularly those directly concerned with students, an early increase in the number of women should be possible and be given immediate and continued attention. "Counting" should of course include both Harvard and Radcliffe personnel.