The development of extension and correspondence work in Meteorology began at an early date. In the 1930s the new requirement of the Civil Service Commission for professional meteorologists spurred requests for correspondence instruction. Early in1939 a 3-credit course on Aeronautical Meteorology was prepared and was an immediate success. It was followed two years later by a second 3-credit course on Climatology, for which a three-hundred-page textbook had to be written. In 1941, the Engineering Defense Training Program requested a course on Engineering Applications of Meteorology. The course was offered through the Extension Division of the School in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. During this program, more than two hundred students were trained in Meteorology for the Civilian Pilot Training Program. In fact, the programs grew so popular that F. Briscoe Stephens was assigned the duty of Coordinator of Meteorology Correspondence. In this position he undertook the writing and servicing of the correspondence courses in Meteorology. The Department continues to offer a variety of correspondence courses.