EXHIBITS
Brigham Young College: The Student Experience
The Student Experience
While many of the students were from Utah, and Cache Valley in particular, they also attended from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, and Colorado. Between 1878 and 1897, tuition ranged from $5.00 to $12.00 a term depending on the course of study. In 1897 tuition was free for all students; however, they paid a $10.00 entrance fee along with extra fees associated with specific classes (to cover materials). There was also a fee of $3.00 for a certificate of graduation from the Academic and Normal courses of study.
The 1897 catalogue notes that the “cost of living in Logan is much lower than in the larger cities of the State.” Room and board in private houses was around $2.00 to $3.00 per week. The catalogue also suggested that students could rent rooms and provide their own boarding, thereby reducing expenses to $1.50 to $2.00 per week.
By 1923 the entrance fee for the college was $15.00 for one quarter or $20.00 for two quarters with additional materials and equipment fees around $4.00 to $5.00 or a student body fee of $4.00 to $5.00. The high school entrance was $15.00 for both quarters and the materials and equipment fees were the same as for the college students. Room and board was estimated to be around $20.00 to $25.00 per month.
During James Z. Stewart’s tenure as BYC principal (1884–1888), the students were required to sign an agreement that outlined the school’s ten rules and regulations such as “I will not visit places of amusement nor leave school without permission” and “I will try to do to others as I would like to be done by at all times, and mind my own business.” President Joseph M. Tanner (1888–1891) established a program called the ‘monitor system’ in which a student served as a monitor for each of the boarding houses. The monitor’s duties were to “keep order during study period and report on himself and fellow students if they were out after hours.”
In addition to their classes, students were required to attend daily devotional exercises from Monday to Friday. Theological studies were also included as a requirement for graduation in all of the courses of study.
Directory of Students
To view the directories, click on an image of a cover below. This will open a new page describing that particular publication. Then click on the large image of the publication in order to scroll through the pages of that publication. The Special Collections & Archives at Utah State University maintains copies of many of the directories but does not have a full run; therefore, there are gaps in the list of publications presented below in this digital exhibit. Note that the directory of students was included in the catalogue for some years.
