PERSONAL PRACTICE

Student guidance, vocational suggestion, and consultation on careers are no new things in American colleges. But perhaps in interesting assay is the method of direction employed at Purdue University by Mr. J. E. Walters, Director of Personnel. His aim is not primarily to at square pegs into round holes, but to enable students to develop their personalities while in college, so as not to emerge as misfits to the detriment of themselves or their future employers.

Unusually enlightened employers, the Manufacturers Association of Indiana came to Purdue saying they employed a great many of its graduates and wanted them to have personality as well as engineering knowledge. According to the plan developed by Mr. Walters, the student first rates himself as to a number of vital trails and characteristics and fifteen others rate the same student by means of questionnaires. The result of these psychological tests is a personality "photograph" which gives the Director otherwise unobtainable knowledge upon the student's attitude, disposition, and capacity. All students whose averages fall into the lowest quarter are invited to discuss with the personnel director a program of development. In a three-year period, such a group rison above the average, for by per cent of the students cooperate eagerly.

Mr. Walters' thoais in that all are susceptible of help and improvement and given an effective method, all will benefit. Whether or not this method is the best, it certainly deserves the attention and investigation of other colleges. There are, though not in great numbers, undergraduates at Harvard who could be measurably aided by name much process as that of Mr. Walters. It is probable that in the future all colleges will develop suitable methods for individual attention to subdue the frequent outeries against mass production.