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Rudolph text Events in this timeline have been selected, in part, based on an understanding of the major eras and historical events that have shaped American higher education, as outlined in Rudolph, F. (1962). The American College & University: A History. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press.
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Harvard College Historical Facts Massachusetts General Court passes the legislative act founding Harvard College (Puritans).
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Timespan categories adapted from Altbach, P., Berdahl, R. & Gumport, P. (2005). American higher Education in the twenty-first century: Social, political, and economic challenges. Second Edition. Baltimore, MD: The John Hopkins University Press.
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William and Mary History William and Mary founded by royal charter in Virginia.
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Yale History The Collegiate School in Connecticut, to later be known as Yale College, founded in response to theological drift at Harvard College.
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Yale charter Yale students relieved of their tax obligation and military service.
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Distance Education First distance education course emerges out of Boston, with instruction delivered via postal mail.
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In addition to competency in Latin and Greek, arithmetic is made an entrance requirement at Yale.
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No religious tests The College of New Jersey at Princeton is founded- promises no religious tests.
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Columbia History King's College, later to be known as Columbia, founded by the Church of England but with a promise of no religious tests.
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UPenn History College of Philadelphia, later to be known as University of Pennsylvania, founded.
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Brown History College of Rhode Island at Providence, later to be known as Brown University, founded with a promise to have no religious requirements for admission (in addition to no religious tests of faculty).
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American Revolution "Shot heard around the world" begins the American war for indepence.
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Rutgers History Queen's College, later to be known as Rutgers University, founded.
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Dartmouth History Dartmouth last institution to be founded under colonial rule.
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By end of colonial era, approximately 1:1000 American colonists had attended college at some point in their lives (compared to 60:1000 currently enrolled in FA14 alone).
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Day of Prayer The first Continental Congress calls for a National Day of Prayer and Fasting as a precursor to the National Day of Prayer to be later established by President Truman (1952).
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PBK First American college fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, is established at William and Mary.
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Change at W&M Thomas Jefferson introduces a set of legislative proposals that would have eliminated professorships in divinity at William & Mary.
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UNC University of North Carolina chartered as the first American public university.
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Between 1782-1802, nineteen colleges (which still exist today) were chartered, more than twice as many as had been founded in the previous 150 years.
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UVM & War of 1812 University of Vermont closed in order to house American soldiers during the War of 1812.
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UVA History University of Virginia founded by Thomas Jefferson, offering a broad and diverse range of studies and centered upon a library as opposed to a church.
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Dartmouth v. Woodward Supreme Court decision in Dartmouth vs. Woodward limits the power of the state to interfere with privately chartered institutions.
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Harvard Rebellion Over half of the graduating class of Harvard expelled before commencement as a result of the "Great Rebellion of 1823."
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Modern university system pioneered at University of Virgina, when the Virignia Board of Visitors adopted plans to divide the University into eight separate "schools."
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Yale Report of the Faculty The famous “Yale Report” articulates a compelling defense for a liberal education.
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Harvard announces that students could go to any church on Sunday that they or their parents choose.
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Trout Duel Two students duel over a "dish of trout" at South Carolina College, leaving one dead and the other severly injured.
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Oberlin History Oberlin College the first to graduate female students with baccalaureate degrees.
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Harvard-Yale Regatta Inter-collegiate sports established when crews from Harvard and Yale challenge one another to a rowing race.
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Civil War The American Civil begins at Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay.
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Morrill Land-Grant Act Morrill Act dramatically increases access to public higher education by designating land for states to create institutions focuses on agriculture and mechanics.
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Harvard makes all religious exercises, such as chapel attendance, voluntary.
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2nd Morrill Act Second Morrill Act dramatically increases access to education for African-American students.
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College Entrance Examination Board College Entrance Examination Board introduced at Columbia University by representatives of twelve colleges and universities.
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Joliet Junior College Joliet Junior College, the nation’s first public community college, is founded.
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History of the NCAA Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States established (later renamed the NCAA).
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AAUP American Association of University Professors established.
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WWI United States join the allies of World War I.
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American Council on Education American Council on Education (ACE) established.
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Radio courses The University of Nebraska’s WFAV started offering credit courses via radio.
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WWII United States officially enters WWII.
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GI Bill The first of a series of “GI Bills” passed to provide federal financial aid for education to veterans.
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WWII Reversal of gender gap Due to World War II’s impact on male enrollment, women temporarily outnumber men in higher education for the first time (after war ends, they will remain a minority in higher education until 1979).
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College enrollment surges by over half a million students in less than five years as a result of veterans attending under the provisions of the GI Bill.
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Truman Commission Report Higher Education for American Democracy (Truman Commission Report), one of the first presidential commissions to examine the state of American Higher Education, calls for a network of public community colleges.
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First African-American graduate of Naval Academy Wesley A. Brown becomes the first African American to graduate from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
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Brown v. Board of Education U.S. Supreme Court desegregates higher education in the Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka decision.
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Greensboro sit-in Four African American college students begin a sit-in at a “whites-only” lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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In Loco Parentis Dixon v. Alabama decision determines that students at public institutions of higher education have constitutional right to due process in dismissal cases.
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Integration of Ole Miss After an intense legal battle, James Meredith is granted admission as the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi.
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Civil Rights Act Congress passes the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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Public institutions of higher education enroll twice as many students as private institutions. College attendance rates among high school graduates now tops 50 percent.
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HOA 1965 Congress passes the Higher Education Act which, among other things, would regulate higher education accreditation.
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First official LGBT student organization Columbia University grants the first official campus charter to a gay student organization.
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ARPANET U.S. Department of Defense establishes ARPANET, the precursor to the internet.
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Public colleges and universities now enroll three times as many students as private institutions.
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Kent State Massacre Four students at Kent State are killed by National Guard protesting Vietnam War.
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First African-American President of a Major University Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. elected as president of Michigan State University and becomes the first African-American president of a major university.
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Selective Service Act The Military Selective Service Act ends the policy of student deferment for the draft.
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Title IX Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and creation of “Title IX.”
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Section 504 The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) establishes protections for persons with disabilities enrolled at a college or university.
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Carnegie Classification Carnegie Classification system introduced.
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College and university enrollment tops 10 million students.
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FERPA Congress passes the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
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Navy Women The United States Naval Academy at Annapolis begins admitting women.
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Hannah Gray Hanna Gray elected as president of the University of Chicago and becomes the first woman to lead a major university.
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Women now represent the majority of students enrolled at institutions of higher education.
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Department of Education The U.S. Department of Education is created.
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College Ranking U.S. News & World Report publishes its first rankings of higher education institutions
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Women at Columbia The last Ivy League institution, Columbia University, begins to enroll women as undergraduates.
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Average tuition, room, and board for all private institutions tops $10,000 for the first time.
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Americans with Disabilities Act Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides further protections for persons with disabilities who wish to apply or are enrolled at an institution of higher education.
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Clery Act Student Right–to–Know and Campus Security Act (Clery) passed, requiring colleges and universities to disclose statistics about crimes that occur on their campuses.
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UPhoenix University of Phoenix becomes the first publicly-traded, for-profit institution of higher eduction.
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CALCampus CALCampus introduces first curriculum offered entirely online.
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VMI & 14th Amendment United States v. Virginia Supreme Court decision determines that the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) violated fourteenth amendment of the US Constitution by denying regular admission to women.
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CHEA The Council for Higher Education Accreditation is established as the recognizing body for accrediting organizations.
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Average tuition, room, and board at private colleges and universities tops $20,000.
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JIU Jones International University is the first “virtual university” to receive regional accreditation.
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15 million students are enrolled in colleges and universities in the United States.
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http://www.csac.ca.gov/pubs/forms/grnt_frm/cal_grant_dream_act_faqs.pdf California Dream Act signed into law, granting in-state tuition and other financial aid benefits to undocumented immigrant students meeting certain conditions.
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MOOCs Massive open online course (MOOCS) began emerging.
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Campus SaVE Campus SaVE Act passed in response to sexual assault epidemic on college and university campuses.
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College Score Card Obama administration announces first federal “college scorecard" to rank effectiveness of colleges and universities.
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Over 20 million students studying annually at American institutions of higher education.
