Running head: IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Impacts of the Great Depression on Higher Education: A Research Proposal

Kevin Cook
LI 885, Emporia State University
12/05/2014

IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Introduction
The Great Depression remains the epitome of how bad the economy can decline in the
United States. The consequences of the Great Depression were felt worldwide. The advent of
this economic nadir in the United States started in 1929 after the stock market crashed. Many
individuals and industries were affected by this global economic distress. Academic fields and
Universities were challenged to evolve and develop innovative methods of sustainability in a
world with 20-30% unemployment.
Researching the relationship between student enrollments in higher education during
economic struggle of the 1930s is critically important because of similarities to the recent
recession. Current events warrant reflection on the past, present, and future impact of economic
declines on higher education and their effects on social programs, (Galambos, 2009, p. 1). An
economic recession is a period of two or more fiscal quarters that conclude with income declines,
unemployment rises, and unsteady industrial production and a persistent period of recession
becomes a depression (Galambos, 2009). Relating the current circumstances to past events is
also important when developing strategies to progress out of undesirable financial conditions.
Research Question
How did the economic distress of the Great Depression during the 1930s affect higher
education? With university student enrollment representing the dependent variable and the
United States economy as the independent variable, financial struggle will affect student
enrollment in a negative manner. Enrollment in universities nationwide struggled during the
1930s and for different reasons. Presently, the higher education system is beginning to react to
the economic downturn in a manner similar to the way it responded to the Great Depression,

IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

(Galambos, 2009, p. 4). It would benefit universities to learn from history when dealing with
economic struggles.
Literature Review
The current research literature illustrates a variety of impacts the Great Depression had
on American academe. Some universities had students changing majors so upon graduating,
they could be more marketable for the workforce. There was a continuing increase in the
number of high school graduates in the steady movement of colleges and universities toward
practical, job-relevant study fields, (El-Khawas, 2011, p. 34). The workforce was very limited
to more hands-on professions, although professions such as farmers were also hit because of the
drastic plummet in profits.
It seems that an economic event such as the Great Depression forced students to avoid
humanities programs and earn degrees in practical professions such as mathematics and
economics, however according to El-Khawas (2011), New York University, weathered a sharp
enrollment decrease in its engineering, commerce and teaching programs, losing 10,000 of its
13,000 students in these fields, (p. 31-32). This conflicts with Drakemans (2013) statement
that, In the 1930s, Princetons engineers tripled from the 1920s, while enrollments in English,
art, and classics dropped sharply, Drakeman (2013) concludes with Hard times will very likely
and predictablydrive students toward fields that seem more practical.
Multiple sources write on the improvement of university enrollment during the latter half
of the Great Depression. By 1940, total enrollment reached 1.5 million students, a 36%
increase compared to 1930, (El-Khawas, 2011, p. 32). Higher education enrollment plummeted
in the first half of the 1930s but began to increase closer to 1940. By 1940, 16% of 18-year-

IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

olds in the United States were entering college, compared to only 8% in 1920, (El-Khawas,
2011, p. 34). Eventually, the economy became better and the subjects of study became more
even like before the Great Depression. As Americans stock portfolios go up, so does their
interest in the humanities, (Drakeman, 2013). As a subtle advice, Schrecker (2009) writes,
While it is unlikely that today's educational leaders will pour scarce resources back into already
gutted traditional departments, the experience of the Depression should alert them to the dangers
of tailoring the curriculum too closely to the vocational prospects of the moment.
Although directly affected by the Great Depression, some university students remained
enrollment with the help of the New Deal of 1933. Contrary to popular belief, young people
did not flock to the nation's campuses to forestall unemployment, Schrecker, 2009). Student
aide in the form of research assistantships eventually increased through provisions from the New
Deal and relief programs, (Galambos, 2009, p. 2). Multiple sources explain that during the
Great Depression many colleges and universities reduced financial assistance and parental
assistance also decreased, (Galambos, 2009; El-Khawas, 2011). Parents were forced to make the
conflicting choice between feeding the family and paying university tuition. Students managed
to stay in school by securing employment and sacrificing necessities, (Galambos, 2009, p. 2).
This same attribute can be found in present university students.
Sources
The recent scholarly literature traces much on how the economy can affect higher
education. What is missing is the quantitative and qualitative data to support this topic. In order
to attain this intrinsic and extrinsic evidence, other sources must be obtained. Collecting census
records from the 1920, 1930, and 1940 censuses, would be very useful in attaining information

IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

such as education level, profession, and age. The three censuses can be compared to find
patterns in university enrollment in different regions of the United States. Censuses can be
retrieved from www.Ancestry.com or at the National Archives.
The University of Kansas holds annual catalogues that contain quantitative charts of
students enrolled by the academic year. The charts also display the ratio of men and women
enrolled in particular schools at the university as well as faculty to student ratios.
Census records will be a vital resource in finding the qualitative data on how student
enrollment was affected during the Great Depression. This information can be compared to
census records of areas near universities to see the relationship between the parents education
level, parents occupation, geographic location, and number of members in the family.
The Olathe Public Library has a Kansas themed room with a plethora of historical tomes
offering information on several of the major universities in Kansas that were around during the
Great Depression. Among those are University of Kansas and Kansas State University. Further
examination of Kansas State University: The Quest for Identity, and The University of Kansas: A
History, would prove useful in my research. These books display charts of enrollment in the
university by year, school, sex of the student, and scholarships throughout the 1930s. Firsthand
accounts supplement the enrollment charts with extrinsic information on what was happening in
America during the 1930s and how the university reacted.
Kansas Historical Society will provide me with the analytical information from firsthand
accounts in the Kansas Board of Regents professions. The Attorney General's Opinions Kansas
Board of Regents 1925 - 1996 Government record (Series 218087) is a government record which

IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

will provide direct accounts and records of students, dormitory populations, contracts and budget
for the university.
The Kansas Board of Regents 1913B-1985 Government record Minutes (Series
194356) will provide fruitful information being 40 cubic feet in size. This collection will offer
meaningful information from Board of Administration and Board of Regents meetings of many
Kansas higher education institutions. These institutions include the State Schools for the Blind
and for the Deaf; the three teachers colleges at Emporia, Fort Hays, and Pittsburg; University of
Kansas, the KU Medical Center, and Kansas State University; Wichita State University; Western
University; and the Kansas Technical School and Technical Institute. What I am most interested
in this collection for are the fiscal records of the colleges. I can compare the different colleges
and their fiscal reports to the enrollment numbers. I predict there will be a trend between the
fiscal success and turmoil of a university to the total enrollment number.
Another important resource is Subject Files - Board of Regents Kansas Board of
Regents. Legal 1935 - 2005, 2010 (Series 198634). I am most interested in the dates 1935-1940.
These six years were the better years of the Great Depression in America. The collection
consists of scholarship information for students. This can be compared to other resources to see
how the economy impacted student scholarship and other forms of financial aid. There are also
records pertaining to university athletics. This would be interesting to follow and compare
traditional student enrollment to student athlete enrollment through the time of the Great
Depression. Admission requirements are also available in this collection. It would help to have
another variable in the research by checking if the enrollment issues were because of stricter
admission requirements. They could have been altered to be more lenient for students to attend
higher education institutions.

IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

The record group 69.3.5 Records of the Emergency Education Program will provide me
with memorandums containing teaching materials from 1933-1939 as well as reports on the
development of student aid. Record group 69.3.8 Records relating to research, statistics, and
finance will offer a multitude of helpful documents. The entire collection is on 111 rolls of
microfilm. The collection contains statistics for many programs including the Emergency
Education Program, 1933-1937; and the College Student Aid Program, 1934-1935. This source
will assist in discovering how student tuition and student aid participated in the altering number
of higher education enrollment nationwide.
Conclusion
This research involves history, economics, statistics, sociology, and genealogy. Further
research on the impact of economic turmoil through these lenses will assist in answering the
topic question of how higher education enrollment was affected by the Great Depression. There
are many sources of information for retrieval on this topic. However, each source may not
answer the question by itself and will have to be compared to the rest of the sources. This
research will hopefully provide a better understanding of the challenges higher education
enrollment faced during the 1930s in the United States.

IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

References
Carey, J. C., (1977). Kansas State University: The quest for identity. Lawrence, The University
Press of Kansas.
Drakeman, D. L. (2013). The highly useful crisis in the humanities. Chronicle of Higher
Education, 60(1), 6.
El-Khawas, E. (2011). The impact of economic crises on American universities: lessons from the
past. Higher Education Management & Policy, 23(2), 27-40.
Galambos, C. (2009). From the editor: A dialogue on the economic decline and higher
education. Journal Of Social Work Education, 45(1), 1-5.
Griffin, C. S., (1974). The University of Kansas: A history. Lawrence, The University Press of
Kansas.
Kansas Historical Society. (n.d.a) Attorney Generals Opinions, 1925-1996. Retrieved from
http://www.kshs.org/dart/units/view/218087.
---. (n.d.b) Minutes, 1913-1985. Retrieved from http://www.kshs.org/dart/units/view/194356.
---. (n.d.c) Subject Files-Board of Regents, 1935-2005, 2010. Retrieved from
http://www.kshs.org/dart/units/view/198634.
National Archives and Records Administration. (n.d.a) Records of the Emergency Education
Program, 1933-1939. Retrieved from http://research.archives.gov/description/1772614.
---. (n.d.b) Records Relating to Research, Statistics, and Finance, 1933-1942. Retrieved from
http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/069.html#69.3.5.

IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Schrecker, E. (2009). The bad old days. Chronicle of Higher Education, 55(40), 31.