# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S490
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

490 Report of Board for Higher Education

for instance, our Army and Navy Commission may have difficulty
placing permanent chaplains in the Army and’ Navy because
students do not have the A.B, degree and then three additional years?
of theological study.. In the Past this has been the requirement: ‘¢

both Army and Navy permanent chaplains, However, these difficul
seem not to be insurmountable. At any rate, it would not be 5
fiable to impose the requirements of a four-year liberal arts course’ ¢
100 per cent of the Seminary students in order to meet the requiré
ments of, perhaps, less than 5 per cent. Undoubtedly, ways atid
means can be found to encourage some Seminary students to se
the necessary 30 semester hours of credit at summer sessions of o
colleges, Particularly of Valparaiso University, to qualify: for
Bachelor’s degree. ‘ -

‘The difficulties encountered by candidates in entering graduat
schools of some universities for work in certain. fields has ‘be.
advanced as a reason for Providing them with the traditional . /
However, this difficulty would not be eliminated by lengthening
college course to four years. It should be realized that the final y.
of a senior college course under any circumstances would be hig’

. Professionalized and definitely directed toward theological training

No large number of elective courses could be provided in’ Scien

Mathematics, History, etc., to meet the undergraduate requirement: ;
for specialization in these fields. Synod could ‘il! afford to provi
4 program of so many electives in the upper division that the varyings
inclinations of the students could be satisfied. This is especially try
in view of the fact that the Church supplies the. education witho)
cost to the student. Undergraduate competence in a large numbe
of non-theological fields would still need to be secured by thos
students who planned later on to major in them. -

Under these circumstances it would be better to defer for a number: <4
of years any basic change in the present organization ‘of prethe

Supplying the necessary teaching force at the present time f
an upper liberal arts division likewise presents a problem of A
small Proportion. From this angle also. “growing into a senio!
college” seems to be the wiser procedure, if indeed it’ eventualk
would become desirable to expand the system in this direction.