[Note: This article originally appeared in the UConn Advancein 2000.]
What was it like 100 years ago at the University of
Connecticut? What were the requirements for admission,
how many students attended, and how long was the
school year? Were women admitted to the university?
What was the tuition? These questions and more are
answered in the school's catalog from 1898-99 and
other sources.
In 1898, the University of Connecticut was called
the Storrs Agricultural College and was only in its
17th year of operation. It started out as the Storrs
Agricultural School, but was renamed on April 21,
1893. The name was changed again on June 14, 1899,
to the Connecticut Agricultural College, and it was
known by this name until it became Connecticut State
College on February 25, 1933 and, finally, the
University of Connecticut on May 2, 1939.
The nearest railroad station to the college was
Eagleville, on the Central Vermont road, which connected
at Willimantic with the New England division of the
Consolidated Road. A long-distance telephone at the
college rendered it easy to communicate by telephone
or telegraph.
Applicants had to be citizens of Connecticut, and at
least 15 years old. They had to pass a satisfactory
examination in reading, writing, spelling, English
grammar, arithmetic, geography and U.S. history. At
the discretion of the faculty, however, certificates
from accredited high schools could be accepted in
place of the examinations. The work of the high school
had to be equivalent to that done by the lower college
classes. Candidates were required to present satisfactory
testimonials about their good character and previous
scholarship from a former teacher, pastor or neighbor
qualified to recommend them.
One hundred years ago tuition and room rent were
free to all students. The rooms were provided with
bed, mattress, study table and chairs. Bedding,
toilet and table linen, lamps, carpets and rugs, and
other items desired for comfort had to be furnished
by the students. Board, fuel, lights, books and
stationery were furnished at cost. A student's expenses
were $125 a year and up (a factory worker's yearly wage
was approximately $492 a year in 1897), roughly equivalent
to $2,500 in 1996 dollars.
With economy and paid work (at 8 to 12 cents an hour),
however, annual expenditures could be kept to a
minimum. Students of both sexes were employed, and
paid for their work by the college. Student employment
was under the control of the heads of departments.
"Industrious and faithful young men and women [could]
do much toward helping themselves financially, as well
as to become skilled in things pertaining to farm and
house-hold labor," said the Storrs Agricultural College
Catalog of 1898-99.
Students were required to attend
prayers at the College Chapel daily, except Saturday
and Sunday, and services at church on Sunday morning.
The Second Congregational Church at Storrs set apart
one-fourth of its seating capacity for the exclusive use
of college students. Parents or guardians could designate
the church they wished their student to attend.
One hundred years ago "ungentlemanly conduct, unexcused
absence from any college exercise, interfering with
college property, etc., [were] treated as misdemeanors,
and punished according to the offense," according to the
1898-99 catalog. "Each member of the faculty [was]
empowered to exact obedience and good conduct in class
and on the college premises." To pass from one study
to another, or from one class to the next, students
had to reach an average of 60, 65, 70 and 75 percent,
according to grade, in their daily work and examinations.
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In 1898 there were three terms per year: fall
(September 18 to December 21, 1898), winter (January 2 to March 24,
1899) and spring (April 3 to June 14, 1899). There was
a preparatory year, and freshmen, sophomore, junior
and senior years of study. The two-semester year was
introduced in 1914. In the 1990s, each semester consists
of approximately 16 weeks and there are four years of study.
Among the required courses of instruction for students
in 1898 was physical training in the gymnasium for the
"young ladies" and military drill for the "young men."
Military drill was obligatory, and each male student had
to procure for himself a blue military suit at a cost of
about $15 for coat, pantaloons and cap.
In 1898, the second president of the college, George
Washington Flint, began his tenure; the Storrs Agricultural
College Lookout was the monthly student newspaper, the
precursor to today's daily student newspaper, The Daily
Campus; and the school's library contained only a few
thousand volumes. Although figures are not available for
that year, in 1895 there were 3,943 volumes in the library
and in 1900 there were 8,127. In 1996, UConn's library had
2,012,767 volumes.
In 1898 the total enrollment, which consisted of undergraduates
only, was 132 students. The numbers of men and women are not
available for that year, but in 1895 there were 119 men
and 19 women, and in 1900 there were 77 men and 33 women.
By contrast, in 1997 there were a total of 11,318
undergraduates at the Storrs campus, 5,537 men and 5,781
women.
For the first 10 years the college was in operation,
a certificate was awarded rather than a degree. In 1898,
there were 14 certificates awarded. One hundred years
later, UConn awarded 2,275 bachelor's degrees, 1,366
master's degrees, 254 Ph.D.s, 197 Juris Doctor degrees,
45 D.M.D.s and 82 M.D.s in 1997 (for a total of 4,219
degrees conferred).
Barbara Nangle
is on the staff of the Office of Institutional Research.
Sources: Catalog of the Officers and Students of the Storrs
Agricultural College Catalog 1898-99; "Facts About UConn
Since 1881;" "The University of Connecticut Fact Book"
1996-97 and 1997-98; and "Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Conversion Factors to Convert to 1996 Dollars." |
