College Fees for other than Elementary Teachers-in-Training[2]
Oxford and Cambridge Colleges From £90 to £105 a year for a
minimum of 3 years (of 24 weeks).
Other Residential Universities
and Colleges From £52 to £90 or £110 a
year for a minimum of 3
years (of 30 to 35 weeks).
Non-residential Colleges From £20 to £55 a year for a minimum of 3 years. (The cost of maintenance must be reckoned at about £40 a year, as a minimum.)
Students who desire to do advanced work will need at least one, and probably two, additional years at the University, while all women who intend to teach in schools ought also to spend one year in training.
A large number of County Councils provide "senior" scholarships to cover or partially to cover college fees. In some counties only one or two such scholarships are given annually, and there is severe competition: in others they are comparatively easy to obtain, though there are never enough for all candidates who desire a University education. Most of these scholarships are not renewable for a fourth year of training—an extremely short-sighted policy on the part of the authorities.
At practically every University, entrance or other scholarships and exhibitions are awarded annually. Competition for these is usually very severe, and they are extremely difficult to gain. At Oxford and Cambridge only quite exceptional candidates can hope to secure scholarships at the women's colleges. Moreover, scholarships seldom cover the complete cost of maintenance and tuition; at Oxford and Cambridge they never do so.
Most secondary teachers, then, must incur liabilities varying from £60 to £350, apart from school, holiday, and personal expenses, before they obtain their first degree. On the other hand, a graduate with good testimonials can very often obtain her professional training at comparatively small cost by means of a bursary: with luck, she may get maintenance as well as free tuition. Every year, however, as training is more widely recognised as essential, the proportion of scholarships available becomes smaller. With the advent of the new Teachers' Register, which makes training indispensable after 1918, girls will more and more often be obliged to find means to pay for their own training. At present it is often possible to borrow for this purpose from loan societies specially formed to meet the needs of women preparing to enter professions.
The training for kindergarten and lower-form mistresses is less expensive, arduous, and lengthy. Students are required to give evidence of having received a good secondary education; they can then take their First Froebel Certificate after one year, and their Higher Froebel Certificate after about two years' training. The cost of such training varies from £30 to £58 non-resident; £120 to £150 resident. If they elect to go to the House of Education at Ambleside, the training is for two years, and is specially suited to those who wish to teach in private families. The cost amounts to £90 a year, including residence, which is obligatory.
Kindergarten assistant-mistresses usually obtain from £90 to £100 salary for part-day work, while for whole-day work the rate is the same as that of their colleagues. Mistresses in charge of a large kindergarten department often receive additions to their stipend if they are willing to train student-mistresses for Froebel examinations.