Catholic Women's Colleges and the War

Abstract

T OTAL war has brought about varying degrees of modification in all types and on all academic levels of education. Because of the chronological age of their students, institutions of higher learning have felt the impact of the war more than elementary and secondary schools. Colleges, universities, and professional schools have been affected by military service, acceleration, the government's utilization of institutions, and the psychological appeal of attractive salaries enticing students to leave school. The change which the war has made in the four-year Catholic women's colleges is revealed by a study of questionnaire replies received from fifty, or 56 per cent, of the eighty-nine four-year Catholic women's colleges in the United States. Data was submitted regarding enrollment, faculty, finance, length of term, adjustments in administration, departments and services, and curricular and extracurricular activities for September, I94i and I943, and for the summer schools of I94i and I943. These dates were chosen as indicative of pre-war and recent conditions in schools. In addition to this information, administrators were asked to comment on their institutions' current problems and their anticipated postwar problems. The colleges included in this study had enrollments ranging from 40 to 746 in I94I, and from 46 to 780 in I943. For comparative purposes, the institutions were classified in four groups as based on the September, I94I, enrollments. In numerical order, the grouping included schools whose enrollment ranged from 20 to I70 (Group I), I7I to 320 (Group II), 32I to 470 (Group III), and 47I to 770 students (Group IV). The groups included I3, 22, I1, and 5 colleges, respectively. In the matter of enrollment, Catholic women's colleges as a group presented a situation in contrast to that reported by the Office of Education for 622 institutions of higher learning. The enrollment of these 622 institutions for the period from October I5, I94I, to October is., I942, showed a total decrease of i3.7 per cent. Excluding teachers' colleges, normal schools, and junior colleges, enrollments in the universities, colleges, and professional schools alone decreased I0.7 per