In 1998, one of the major topics in education is whether colleges should engage in remedial work or not. With a complete system of state supported public education through twelve grades, however, the questions today revolve more around whether the pre-college institutions are doing their assigned jobs. The dilemmas facing us today are quite different from the ones facing Birdwell and his fellow presidents.

In 1923-24, the State of Texas did not provide funding for either the eleventh or twelfth years of public schooling. How could students without opportunity prepare for college? Students who wanted to attend college had no place to make up their requirements except to go to the college itself. The State Teachers Colleges offered what they termed a sub-college at the time.

Should colleges be doing remedial work? The subject elicited strong feelings on both sides of the issue, as they do today. There was a substantial number of the board who thought that the sub-colleges should be discontinued; the big discussion took place on May 10, 1924. The Presidents, as opposed to the board members, unanimously felt that the sub-colleges should be continued. The President of Sam Houston deemed it important that the upper levels of sub-college be kept, "to furnish training to the overgrown and under-graduate country boys and girls, and to furnish teachers for the Rural districts." Birdwell strongly agreed.

The President of West Texas State suggested the program's name be changed to the "Rural School Program" which he felt "would prove beneficial and popular." Others agreed. The Council of Presidents recommended that they keep the program and rename it; the program would "offer a three year Rural Teachers Curriculum, beginning with the level of the present second year sub-college class, and that such course lead to a diploma and permanent certificate." Birdwell defendee the sub-college.Sometime after this meeting of the Board, Birdwell described the sub-college using the terminology of the recent meeting.

The Sub-Freshman students do not recite with the college classes, and, with one or two exceptions, teachers who give college courses do not teach this group of students. We do use the same buildings and class rooms. We endeavor to keep the work entirely separate, and but for exigencies pertaining to a new school, we are doing so. After this year it is thought, because of our new building program, which is now under the way, that we can separate this group of students from the regular college students in every respect. Even now there is no inter-lapping that affects in any way accepted college standards."

Reflecting over the situation in 1935, Birdwell gave more or less a final word on the sub-college:

"It should be noted that at the beginning more than half of the college students were of sub-college rank. This number has gradually decreased, vanishing entirely with the season of 1930-31. It will be remembered that when the college opened in 1923, all the state teachers colleges accepted students on the tenth grade level, giving them two years of preparatory work. This was made necessary for two reasons: First, students from the open country, which constitute the largest number of those who wish to teach, did not at that time have first class high school privileges. The second reason was that the statutes provided for two and three year elementary certificates on the completion of these two years of work. When the certificate law was written, 1921, there was a scarcity of teachers, and it was thought that this source of recruits was necessary if all the schools in the state were to be supplied with teachers. There are two or three reasons why students in the sub-college have gradually decreased. First, the public school situation has greatly improved, and it is much more nearly possible for students to receive high school training near their home. Second, the college has constantly advised students to secure their high school training in their own communities where it was all possible. Third, the demand for teachers in this low grade is rapidly passing away. Fourth, the college itself discouraged students from accepting these low grade certificates. The sub-college, therefore, is no more. It did a splendid service in its day."