VOL.4, NO. 8
EVENING COURSES IN CREMISTRY
969
EVENING COURSES IN CHEMISTRY
During the past few years various members of the Chicago Section of the American Chemical Society have been instrumental in gathering together groups of chemists interested in pursuing courses of study in the evening. An instructor was secured from one or the other of the universities in or near Chicago and each student paid a small sum, usually amounting to about one dollar for each two-hour lecture, the entire amount going to the instructor. The class meetings were held in a room in the City Club. One year ago. the movement was officially sanctioned by the Chicago Section and the men who had been in charge of the courses formed the nucleus for a committee of the Section. During the early years of the movement courses were offered in elementary physical chemistry, more advanced physical chemistry, colloids and physiological chemistry. The attendance varied from a dozen to thirty. Last winter a t the time the movement became an official part of the activities of the Chicago Section, several new members were added to the committee. It was felt by the committee as a whole that a more proper setting for the courses could be found if the courses were offered by one of the downtown branches of the universities in Chicago. An arrangement was completed with the University College of the University of Chicago, with class-rooms in the "loop," to offer such courses as seemed to be in demand by a sufficient number of chemists. The instructors need not be chosen from the faculty of the University of Chicago but may be chosen from the faculty of any other university in the vicinity or from among the industrial chemists of the city. The only requirement in the choice of an instructor is that the approval of the head of the department of chemistry of the University of Chicago must be obtained. The first course offered under the new plan was a composite course on some of the newer developments in chemistry by Professors Stieglitz, Harkins, and Schlesinger (although illness prevented Professor Schlesinger from giving his four lectures). The course was given the same credit as a corresponding course on the main campus of the University of Chicago, namely, one half major (one and two-thirds semester hours) for twelve two-hour lectures. Those students who desired college credit prepared a term paper, as the instructor in a graduate course a t the University has the option of requiring a term paper or of giving a final examination. The interest in such courses was demonstrated by the unexpectedly large enrolment of seventy-nine. I n general, few important changes were brought about by the transfer of the courses to University College. The instructor is now paid by the
Univcrsity according t o its scale for evening course work. Collegr credit may be obtained, and those who wish to attend the lectures without obtaining credit may register as "visitors." The charge for the course is approximately the same as under the old plan, except that students who have not previously been enrolled in the University of Chicago must pay a matriculation fee. One distinct advantage is that the instructor may now require certain prerequisites which make for greater homogeneity in the classes. On the whole the plan as i t is now in operation is a distinct help to, those students who for one reason or another wish to obtain college degrees and, in addition, the University helps to a certain extent in the matter. of publicity for the courses. During the fall quarter (1926) courses of twelve two-hour lectures each have been offered in mathematics for chemists and in theories and methods of analysis. During the winter and spring quarters (1927) courses are offered in physics and inorganic chemistry. One of the chief difficulties encountered by the committee was in finding topics for courses which would interest sufficiently large numbers of chemists, as the number of topics suggested was usually nearly equal to the number of persons expressing opinions. Questionnaires were sent out. with the hope of obtaining data on which t o base plans, but the answers usnally showed such a large variety that it was found necessary to limit the number of possible courses which might be offered. For the guidance of University College, the seventy-nine members of the course last spring filled out questionnaires and in addition questionnaires were sent to all members of the Chicago Section and to certain others interested. We may divide the students in the evening courses into the following general categories: (I) Students, frequently not in chemical work, who have a more or less philosophical interest in science and wish to become familiar with recent theories and developments. This class of students does not usually desire college credit. (2) Students who do not care for college degrees, hut who feel, for various reasons, that their training in the fundamental principles was not sufficiently thorough. Such students usually desire courses in physical chemistry, thermodynamics, or physics. (3) Chemists who for one reason or another have not completed the work for some particular degree and wish college credit. This type is more numerous now that the courses are given by the University. Occasionally these students take courses as many undergraduates take them, that is, to obtain credit and with little reference to the title of the course. -In general, however, most students in the evening courses have something definite in mind when they enroll. (4) Chemists who have encountered some difficult or annoying problem in their daily work and wish to obtain a clue to its solution. Students of this type are frequently not very regular attendants a t the lectures. Their questions are apt
to be quite pointed and very difficult to answer. This type of student is most often encountered in a course on colloids. As may be readily imagined a group of students for a given course will always prove to be heterogeneous. There are students with doctor's degrees and students with scarcely any college training (although this is the exception), doctors of medicine, analysts, research chemists, chemists from all of the walks of chemistry. As a result the problem for the instructor is a difficult one. The writer has had classes involving special fields of physical chemistry in which there were students from the sophomore year to Ph.D.'s in physical chemistry. It is almost impossible to interest all members of such a class equally. A given lecture is almost sure to be over the heads of a fraction of the students. There is one decided advantage over the ordinary college course, namely that all or nearly all of the students enrolled are chemists and are interested in chemistry. The subjects desired by those interested in evening courses might well afford food for thought for some of the directors of chemistry departments in our universities. The students come largely from the industries, and there are frequently a few teachers. With relatively few exceptions courses involving fundamental principles are desired and almost without exception courses in some phase of physical chemistry. There are several reasons for this. 'For one thing most small colleges do not give courses in physical chemistry. Another possible cause may be found in the attitude of students as undergraduates. Physical chemistry and thermodynamics do not seem to have much intimate connection with the industrial processes they have heard described and it is not until they leave the university that they realize the importance of the much-despised "theory." And then again, instruction in physical chemistry in many of our universities leaves much to be desired. In any case the students seem to realize that a university instructor cannot be expected to display a detailed knowledge of industrial practices. The demand is, therefore, not for purely informational courses, but for courses which develop a new attitude toward chemistry. For example, it was illuminating to find how many students were interested in the Debye-Hiickel inter-ionic attraction theory and in such things ': as oriented adsorption. The students on the whole are more serious than ordinary undergraduates. They expect to get something definite out of the course and do not care to waste time on non-essentials. For this reason i t is possible to cover more ground in a given time than in a normal course. There are, of course, certain disadvantages to an evening course and particularly to two-hour lectures, although it is difficult to devise another system equally satisfactory. Most of the students have worked hard all day and find it difficult to concentrate. In addition they do not have much time for outside work. For these reasons it has
not been the intention of the committee to offer courses which replace those taken during the regular four-year course in chemistry. The evening courses have their place in filling loopholes in early training, particularly in courses which are not of the fundamental type (general chemistry, qualitative and quantitative analysis, elementary organic chemistry, and elementary physical chemistry). Once a student is out of the chemical cradle the courses are useful in helping him become familiar with a special field or in satisfying his curiosity about recent developments in the field of theoretical chemistry.
