# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1953_S126
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

126 SEMINARIES AND COLLEGES

In a report submitted to the Board for Higher Education,
local administration and faculty have indicated favorable pre
inary reactions toward the new students, particularly in the a
of maturity, clarity of aim and purpose, eagerness to qualify
the ministry, respect for the ministerial and teaching professi
utilization of the library, desire to do satisfactory work, and
ception of counseling.

Since the first graduates of this program entered the St. Loy
Seminary in September, 1952, not even preliminary observatigig
on the performance at this level can be made available to
convention. Your Board

Recommends that the experiment be carried forward d
the next triennium under the direction of the Board for Hi:
Education and that this Board be authorized to continue to
all necessary ccsts as part of the regular budget for higher
ucation.

The Portland Experiment

The experiment at Portland, authorized by the Milwaul
Convention, involves the elimination of the freshman and sdpt
omore high school years to determine the extent of the reci
ment problems involved and the feasibility of providing satis:
tory training for pastors in a four-year junior college. Even thi
these experimental procedures may well produce difficulties
the school, the local’ administration and faculty have chee
given full co-operation to enable Synod to study whatever ‘@
may become available.

Your Board authorized the elimination of the high
freshman year beginning with September, 1951. Since the
was, at that time, in the process of adding two college years, i
not possible to appraise immediately the effects of the introduc!
of this experimental procedure. In fact, between 1951 and’
the enrollment at the institution rose from 108 to 120. In. Sep
ber, 1952, however, your Board did not proceed with the eli
tion of the sophomore year of the high school department b
it concurred in the local administration’s view that eliminati
another year at this time might constitute a serious enro!
dislocation in such a small school. The 1952 enrollment reg
a decrease from 120 to-109. It will be normal to expect a
decrease in total enrollment when the sophomore high school
is eliminated. ;

In a preliminary report the local administration notes,
following advantages:

1. As the program develops, the school is able to place stro
emphasis on the junior college program,