The Graduate School saw an increasing number of applicants in the decade after its founding. With the exception of the years of 1917-18 and 1918–19, where many college students were enlisted in the army during WW1, attendance increased every year between 1910 and 1922: from 91 students in 1910–11 to 300 in 1922. The post-WW1 years in particular saw a growing focus, in American universities, on graduate studies and research, in part due to the increase in attendance. This in turn saw increased competition for graduate students. Recognizing this as well as The Graduate School's shortcomings, Dean James Alton James, in a plea to the University President Scott, stressed the need for additional financial support for The Graduate School to enable it to expand its offerings, as well as the need for a library and housing for graduate students. His requests were met with limited success, but included the first grant for faculty research: $1000 awarded by the Northwestern University Foundation.