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To the city's youth and oldsters, for whose higher education the city will spend nearly $9,000,000 in the coming year, the four colleges offer an almost unlimited range of instruction, from English for immigrants to an M. A., City College gives free training in technical schools of education, business, engineering, in addition to its liberal arts course. And one-half of the 47,000 enrollees are taking evening or extension courses. In the past ten years enrollment has jumped 14,000. Now the colleges rigidly limit entrance, require a high-school average of 75 to 80% for admission and have waiting lists. They are the only municipal colleges in the U. S. charging no tuition to undergraduates; they even supply some books. Non-city residents, evening and graduate students pay $2.50 to $5 a point.
Though the faculty is large and well-paid (up to $9,600 for a full professor), it boasts few big names. Outstanding are Short Story Editor Blanche Colton Williams, Philosophers Harry Allen Overstreet and Morris Raphael Cohen, Artist Joseph Cummings Chase. Campus life such as exists in private and State universities is lacking, but City College is trying to supply this with a house plan, Hunter with teacher-student teas.
Last week John Flynn said the new regime's first step would be to draft a plan to reorganize and centralize the administration, perhaps consolidate some schools and develop a "great institute of technology." Chairman Eisner revealed some members wanted to appoint a chancellor as chief for all the colleges.