Initially, the student enrollment in the Latin School was well over half of the total students enrolled in the University. The preparatory department supplied the University with its students. Enrollment hit its peak in 1880 when 71 percent of all University students were enrolled in the Latin School according to the Register and Catalogues of the University. This trend would not diminish until the mid-1880s. The average annual enrollment for the Latin School for the years 1872-1877 was 108 students. Despite the boost in enrollment, on average Chancellor Benton stated to the Board of Regents on June 25, 1873, that 20 students annually entered the University from the Latin School. A good portion of the students that enrolled into the Latin School did not have any ambition to continue on to the University proper. Only a handful of students would enter the University, with the rest undermining the purpose of the preparatory department.

Sub-Freshman

Since the Latin School was an extra legal creation of the Board of Regents, classification of the preparatory students became an issue concerning their relation to the University proper. Chancellor Benton and Regent McKenzie suggested to the Board of Regents in their report in December 1874, that the students in the preparatory department be classified as "sub-freshman" rather than Latin School students. The committee that Benton and McKenzie were on, also recommended that the Principal of the Latin School become apart of the University proper staff as Assistant Professor of Ancient and Modern Languages. This position would unify the preparatory department with the University. The committee also advocated that the preparatory students were a part of the University and the students are entitled to instruction by University professors, alluding to the fact that professors were complaining about their teaching at the preparatory level.

Criticism

As the Latin School progressed and aged, criticism became an every day occurrence. Newspapers in Omaha caricatured the University as the "Lincoln High School", stated by Manley in his Centennial History. Besides outside criticism, within the University voices against the Latin School were heard loud and clear. Editorials in the The Hesperian Student were common. A complication of these editorials can be found on the Student Reactions page. The faculty of the University was also discontent with the Latin School.

Faculty Opinions

Although some of the faculty dreaded the preparatory department, they realized it was a necessity. To add to the longevity of the Latin School, professors sought to upgrade its course of study of the school in 1876 by adding Greek. It would now be studied for two years rather than one semester, with three years of Latin studied in two. The faculty gave recommendations of including higher English grammar, higher mental and written arithmetic, and local geography with map drawing in addition to what is already studied. The faculty proposals were adopted by the Board of Regents on June 21, 1876. However, later on the Board of Regents contracted their motion by rearranging the course of study. It was clear with this action that the Board was intent on maintaining lower levels of instruction in the Latin School. The Board of Regents still felt that secondary education in Nebraska was not sufficient enough to dissolve the Latin School or raise the academic level of instruction. Chancellor Fairfield also agreed with the position of the Board of Regents. He reminded the skeptics that many universities in the East had preparatory departments. Nebraska should not be ashamed to have a Latin School but rather, the University should concentrate on making the instruction reach its optimal level.

Growing Pains

With the high numbers of enrollment for the Latin School, there was a need for more instructional assistance in the preparatory department. The Hesperian Student offered to have more of the upperclassmen tutor classes, in the April 1876 edition. The paper's proposal was ignored. Nevertheless, the Board of Regents in March 1877 hired Miss Ellen Smith and Charles B. Palmer as full-time tutors of the Latin School. Another problem was the absence of leadership in the form of a Principal. Church was promoted to chair of Latin in the University in 1875 and from 1875 until 1877 there had been no one solely in charged.