chemistry laboratory fees - ACS Publications

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CHEMISTRY LABORATORY FEES V. F. PAYNE AND LYDA MAYSMILEY, TXANSYLVANU COLLBGE. LEXINGTON. KENTUCKY

The wisdom of specie1 laboratory fees for the sciences is questioned. The practice of 319 public and piuate colleges and universities with respect to chemistry laboratory fee charges i s considered. The various fees per course and per credit for the fundamental courses, general chemistry, qualitative analysis, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry are tabulated and summarized. The variety and range of fees are very great. No general and uniform philosophy of assigning chemistry fees and deposits i s discernible.

. . . . . . Our various systems of charges for science lahoratory courses have grown up to fit local needs and in some accord with the previous experience of those in charge. Originally, the privilege of working in a laboratory had to be justified by the willingness on the part of the student to hear the expense involved. This idea was so firmly fixed that the coming of so-called free and public universities has not been completely able to make science laboratory courses free even to the same extent that other courses are free. Now that the sciences are a recognized part of the college curriculum, and a definite requirement in many instances, a higher charge for them may well be questioned. The undoubted contribution of the sciences to society may well justify any encouragement to their study offered by a student charge no higher than that for other courses. Some attention has been paid to the problem of general college and university fees, but special science laboratory fees have generally gone unquestioned. One author (1) calls attention to the fact that in forty-four institutions studied, thirteen general plans of charging laboratory fees in home economics were followed. The term fees ranged from $2.50 to $6.00; semester fees from $3.50 to $14.00 and fees per credit from $1.00 to $1.50 plus a flat semester fee of $2.00. This writer concludes that a fee large enough to meet all the expense would keep students from electing the home economics course, and would make the teacher cut down on materials used in courses, hence lowering the educational value. Since all college courses demand expense beyond the teacher's salary and general upkeep, he recommends charging a uniform fee per credit, regardless of whether the course is laboratory or lecture, or a tuition fee to cover the expense of all courses. Either of these plans, he believes, would result in more students becoming interested in the home economics and particularly food courses. In a chapter on "Cost Studies" Reeves and Russell (2) call attention to the comparative effect of extra fees paid in science courses. In twenty-six departments of one college the average salary cost per student-credit-hour is $7.10 and the average current cost per student-credit-hour is $13,17, Table I is adapted from this study. 133

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JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION

JAN~ARY. 1931

TABLE I Reduction in Current Cost per Student-Credit-How Due to Laboratory Fees Paid for Laboratory Sciences De0ortmenf

Chemistry Biology Physics Geology Home Economics Agriculture

Solory Cosl pn StudentCredit-Hour

Currenl Carl p n StudantCredil-Eour

$ 6.18

$15.09 14.60 21.08 21.62 25.29 26.44

6.37 11.42 16.68 17.52 20.79

. . Average All Comes

.

7.10

.

. .

.

c u n c n , cost 01, SludcrlCrcdil-Hour

Fee? Paid Orr SludcnlLcrr PEES Cmdil-Hour

$12.88 13.67 20.22 20.95 24.69 26.11

$2.21 .93 .86 .67 .60 .33

13.17

The first line of Table I should be read: in the chemistry department of this institution the salary cost per student-credit-hour is $6.18; the current cost less fees, $12.88, and fee paid per student-credit-hour is $2.21. I t would seem difficultto justify a special fee in chemistry representing 14.6 per cent of the current cost in comparison with a special fee representing 1.2 per cent of the current cost in agriculture. This seems clearly a case of attempting to popularize an expensive m s e . The extra bookkeeping and officework involved in collecting the latter fee may absorb much of it, and illustrate still further the inconsistency of the practice. I t may be seen that a large proportion of the cost of the more expensive courses is due to salary cost. This large salary cost will be involved in any departments with very small classes, science or otherwise. The catalogs of 319 public and private colleges and universities ranging in size from the largest to the smallest with a median size of 621 students furnished the data on chemistry laboratory fees here reported for the first time. The median general semester fee charged in these institutions is $75.00. A semester fee of $50.00 is charged by 12.6 per cent of the institutions, $75.00 by 13.9 per cent, $100.00 by 11.3 per cent, $125.00 by 9.2 per cent. The remainder charged general fees ranging from nothing to $325.00 per semester. Thirty-eight institutions, representing 11.9 per cent of the 319 studied, charged no separate laboratory fees for chemistry. Table I1 gives the chemistry laboratory fees per semester course for general chemistry, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, organic and physical chemistry. For example, this table shows that a fee of $5.00 is the mode for general chemistry, qualitative analysis, and quantitative analysis, representing respectively 50, or 20.3 per cent of the cases; 45, or 18.6 per cent; 34, or 15.7 per cent for these courses. Twenty-one institutions charge no fee and the same number charge a fee of $6.00 for physical chemistry. This same fee represents 33, or 14.1 per cent of the

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cases in organic chemistry. while the mode for this course is a fee of $10.00 represented by 37. or 15.7 per cent of the cases. The median fee charged in general and physical chemistry is $6.00, in qualitative and quantitative TABLE 11 Chemistry Laboratory Fees per Semester Course Fee

Gcnnnl

Chcmislry

P"

Cnscs

C m

Qvdirorioc Analysis Cores

P"

Ccnl

Qunnfilofioc Analysis

Cosm

P"

Cenl

01gonic Chcmirlry Coral

PW

Ccnl

~hysicol Chrmisfry PI, Cam Cenl

12.00 . . . . . . . 12.50 ....... 13.00 . . . . . . . 14.00 . . . . 15.00....... 18.00. ...... 20.00. . . . . . . 22.00 . . . . . . . 25.00 ....... 30.00 ....... 35.00 . . . . . . . NoFee . . .

C-es . . . . . . Mode . . . . . . . Median .....

analysis $7.00, and in organic chemistry $7.50. Because of incomplete data in the catalogs available. some of the institutions were not included in this table. but of those represented 13.0 per cent charged no laboratory

.

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION

TABLE rn Laboratory Fees per Credit in Course Gennn1 Chrmirlry Per Coscs Ccn1

1

0.5

Quolitalioa Analysis P" cnrcr CE*,

Quonriln~iva A ndyns P" cosrr Can1

organic

Chcmiilry Per Coscr Can1

Physical

Chemi~w~ Pn Cares

Ccnl

1 1 . 0

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TABLE II-Cmrcludcd hnol Chnnirlry

Feu p a Scmula

Cora

Pn

Cml

10.50....... 11.67....... N o Fee.. 32 15.2 Cases 212 Mode. ...... No Fee Median.. ... 1.50

... .......

Qwlit~lioc Analysis Carer

Par Cent

Qun%litoriaa Analysis Cares

1 32 15.6 205 No Fee 1.67

Pn Cnrf

Olpanic Chnnislry Cases

Pn

Cat

Phyricol Chmislry

Corm

Pa Ccd

0.5

32 15.9 201 No Fee 1.67

1 0.5 32 15.5 207 No Fee 1.75

20 20.0 100 No Fee 1.67

fee in general chemistry, 13.2 per cent no fee in qualitative analysis, 14.7 per cent no fee in quantitative analysis, 13.6 per cent no fee in organic chemistry and 18.2 per cent charged no laboratory fee in physical chemistry. The range of fees shown in the table is from nothing for a number of cases in all the courses to a fee of $35.00 for one course in organic chemistry. Table 111 gives, where the additional information was available, the chemistry laboratory fees per credit in the courses. For all of the courses here studied no fee is charged more frequently than any one fee per credit. The median fee per credit for general chemistry is $1.50; for qualitative and quantitative analysis and physical chemistry, $1.67; and for organic chemistry the median fee per credit is $1.75. The fees range from nothing to $11.67 per credit. Table IV shows the practice of 184 institutions with respect to change of fees with advanced courses. Fifty, or 27.2 per cent show a distinct increase of fees for advanced courses; only five, or 2.7 per cent show a decrease; 107, or 58.1 per cent show no change and 22, or 12.0 per cent are irregular with respect to change of fees for advanced courses. As it would generally be conceded that the advanced courses are more expensive, a uniform fee for all courses is equivalent to placing a large proportion of the expense actually incurred upon the elementary students. This practice is justified by some on the basis of the general requirement of the elementary course for many students. TABLE N Change of Fees with Advanced Courses Change

Cases

Pcr Ccnl

Increase Decrease N o Change Irregular Total

50 5 107 22 184

27.2 2.7 58.1 12.0 100.0

Table V gives for 114 institutions the chemistry breakage deposits charged. No attempt was made to include in the table the institutions that required no breakage deposit or merely charged for "materials used."

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JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION

J~UIUARY, 1931

It did not seem possible, from a study of the catalogs, to list the institutions having a definite policy of requiring a renewal of the deposit when "materials used" exceeded the amount of the original deposit. TABLE V Chemistry Breakage Deposits Dafiorif

Nnnb" of Cases

$1.00 1.50

1 1

Summary The practice of the greatest number of institutions agreeing on any one procedure with respect to the charge of laboratory fees and deposits is to have a uniform fee for the fundamental courses, general chemistry, qualitative and quantitative analysis, organic, and physical chemistry. The most popular fee for this purpose is $5.00 per semester. The most generally required breakage deposit is $5.00. The median fee for general and physical chemistry is $6.00 per semester; for qualitative and quantitative analysis, $7.00; and for organic chemistry the median fee is $7.50 per semester. If the chemistry laboratory fees are divided by the total credit per course, the number of institutions charging no fee exceed those charging any one fee per credit for all the courses. The most frequently charged fee per credit is $2.50 in all cases. The median fee per course credit is $1.50 for general chemistry; $1.67 for qualitative and quantitative analysis and physical chemistry; and $1.75 for organic chemistry. If the chemistry laboratory fees are divided by the credit earned in laboratory, the number of institutions charging no fee out-number the institutions charging any one fee in the general chemistry, quantitative analysis, organic, and physical chemistry. The most frequently charged

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CHEMISTRY LABORATORY FEES

fee in qualitative analysis is $2.50 per laboratory credit. The median fee per laboratory credit is $3.34 for general chemistry; $2.50 for qualitative and quantitative analysis; $3.75 for organic chemistry, and $4.00 for physical chemistry. TABLE VI Summary of Chemistry Laboratory Fees QudiGcnnnl Cksmirrrv

Fee per Highest Fee Semester Mode Course Median Fee per Highest Fee Credit in Mode Course Median Fee per Lab- Highest Fee oratory Mode Credit Median

$20.00 5.00 6.00 4.50 No fee 1.50 18.00 No fee 3.34

lotioc

'

Quonlilolioc

Pbricnl

Andrsir

Annlyds

Organic Chamisrrr

Chemirlry

$25.00 5.00 7.00 10.00 No fee 1.67 18.00 2.50 2.50

$30.00 5.00 7.00 10.50 No fee 1.67 15.00 N o fee 2.50

$35.00 10.00 7.50 11.67 No fee 1.75 18.00 No fee 3.75

$20.00 5.00 6.00 5.00 No fee 1.67 15.00 No fee 4.00

Table VI summarizes the practice with respect to chemistry laboratory fees. The range in each case is from no fee to the highest fee as listed. The writers find no general and uniform philosophy of assigning chem. istry fees and deposits. Any recommendation appealing to us has been implied by Thurber (3) in the statements: There are a number of institutions that have made the commendable change of charging just one fee which they call a tuition or incidental or contingent fee, and include all their charges under this head.. .The library fee is one that might properly come within the general fee.. .and if we go so far, why should not charges for the laboratories be averaged over a period of years and a flat fee included in the tuition or fee charged in the different schools?. . . I t appears perfectly reasonable that all students within a particular school or college should be charged a flat fee for the laboratory, and the laboratories wiIL be there for them to use just as the library is. .. .The plan of stating a large number of di5erent fees is to be deprecated..

..

.

.

Literature Cited ( I ) WULRMS. ".Student Fees in Home Economics," J. Home Economics, 16, 65&2 (Nav.. 1924). ( 2 ) REEVESand RUSSELL."College Organization and Administration," Board of Education, Disciples of Christ, Indianapolis, 1929, pp. 23C-1. "Fiscal Support of State Universities and State Colleges," Bureau (3) THURBER, of Education Bulletin No. 28, 1924, pp. 36, 37.