From 1878 to 1905, every student of Columbia College's senior class was required to submit a thesis on any subject, scientific or literary, in order to graduate. Originally, the student would have to get the President's approval on his chosen subject and then deliver the written thesis to the President personally. A thesis could not "occupy less than eight minutes in reading, at the ordinary rate of effective delivery." The President and the Professor of Rhetoric or English would then decide whether to admit or reject the work. In the case of a split decision, the faculty would be asked to weigh in. If the work was rejected, the student would need to rewrite it or to write another thesis for the President's sole evaluation in other to be allowed to receive a diploma. All admitted theses were to be retained by the College. As the enrollment numbers in the College grew, the President could no longer be as involved in the process. The approval of the thesis subject went from the President (1878-1879), to "the professor of one of the departments" when each department was made up of one professor (1888-1889), to the head of the department (1893-1894), and finally to then-newly-created position of the Dean of the College (1900-1901). Likewise, the evaluation of the submitted work went from the President and the Professor of Rhetoric (1878-1879 to 1891-1892) to the department or head of the department of the thesis subject. For the students, the graduation thesis also evolved into something more scholarly. Starting in 1888-1889, a bibliography was required: "Each essay shall contain as appendix a list of all books, essays, etc., that have been used as authorities." The length of the work would move from the oral presentation rate of at least eight minutes to the written requirement of at least 2000 words starting in 1893-1894. In January 1905, the faculty approved a new program of studies for the undergraduate students at Columbia College. With the new degrees (BA and BS) and the new point or credit-hour system, the thesis requirement was discontinued.