Instead of "ACE," Students had Latin

The "Classics Department" didn't exist until the fall semester of 1925. Originally, students had a rigorously classical curriculum no matter what they wanted to do when they graduated. They were expected to know Latin before admission into the University and by the time they left, they knew how to read, write, and speak Latin as well as Greek (though to a lesser extent). The curriculum was split into a "classical" course, a "scientific" course, and a "special" course. The latter two deviated from the "classical" course slightly to include more of the sciences as well as other languages in addition to Latin and Greek.

Then the 1920s Came, and Students Had Options

With the 1920s came two new requirements to UNL: credits and tuition. The result of these requirements sent students into a frenzy to get the best education they could with their time and resources. For one thing, a student had the new challenge of getting a certain number of credits in order to obtain a diploma. With the knowledge that they had to pay for their education, some students became more concerned about accruing credits that would give them the skills to work instead of the education to continue learning. Several influential individuals pushed to beat the classical curriculum out of the system, and this push eventually prevailed. In order to keep Classics alive within the University, it was corralled by the faculty into its own department and its teachings became optional.