W. W. Charters Institute Self-Study records

In 1922, John A. Randall was selected as the fourth president of the Rochester Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (RAMI). At the time, the school's future was uncertain. RAMI (renamed the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1944) had served an important role during the First World War, tailoring its programs to meet the needs of wartime production and training soldiers in trades and vocations essential to military success. Yet, at the start of Randall's presidency, it was unclear in which direction the school was headed.

In 1925, Randall invited Dexter S. Kimball, Frederick P. Keppel, and Channing R. Dooley to form a commission to study the future path of the Institute, including the possibility that the school might have no future at all. Although the commission determined that RAMI could serve an important role in the education community, it noted that important changes were needed, emphasizing the need for a clear educational policy.

Taking the recommendations of the commission, Randall approached Dr. Werrett Wallace (W.W.) Charters about serving as an educational consultant to RAMI. At the time, Charters (1875-1952) was working as the Director of the Bureau of Educational Research at The Ohio State University (OSU). He was known for his work in curriculum development, particularly his use of a scientific approach to develop programs focused on life activities and functions rather than subject material. Starting in 1928, Charters served as a continuing consultant to the Institute.

After an initial assessment of RAMI, Charters recommended that the school revise its entire curriculum. He explained that course content needed to be based on the job requirements of the positions that students were training for. A curriculum planning committee was to be formed and faculty members were to be trained on the "techniques of investigation" necessary to accomplish this undertaking. RAMI's Policy Committee accepted Charter's recommendation and work began September 1928.

The Curriculum Committee consisted of six individuals: Mark Ellingson (chairman), William N. Fenninger, Georgiana Hathaway, C. C. Thomason, Byron G. Culver, and F. H. Evans. The committee worked closely with a "curriculum expert" – in this case Charters – to oversee the entire process. Charters would visit the Institute every four or five weeks to check-in on the committee's progress. Additional "division" committees were formed, representing each department, with job analysis and subject matter subcommittees. Since Charters had worked as the director for the Research Bureau for Retail Training at the University of Pittsburgh, the retail distribution department was chosen as the first program for evaluation.

The revision process included nine steps: