Timeline Project

  • Pope Gregory VII's Papal Decree
    1079

    Pope Gregory VII's Papal Decree

    Pope Gregory issues a decree that all all cathedrals and major monasteries establish schools to train clergy. This started the move toward education.
  • The Founding of The University of Bologna
    1088

    The Founding of The University of Bologna

    The University of Bologna is the first and oldest continually running university in the world.
  • The Oxford Students Hanging
    1209

    The Oxford Students Hanging

    Two oxford students we hung by the town authority for murder and this lead to the founding of Cambridge which is a very prestigious university even today.
  • The Founding of The University of Naples
    1224

    The Founding of The University of Naples

    The University of Naples was the first state-sponsored university in Europe.
  • Parens Scientarium
    1231

    Parens Scientarium

    The Parens Scientiarum made it so the University of Paris had its own autonomy to govern themselves. With this they were able to make decisions on how they teach and gave them academic freedom.
  • The Founding of Harvard

    The Founding of Harvard

    This was the first university formed in North America. This marked the beginning of higher education in the U.S.
  • The Founding of King's Medical School

    The Founding of King's Medical School

    King's Medical School was one of the first specialized schools in the U.S.. It granted the first medical degree in North America.
  • The Founding of The First Greek Lettered Fraternity

    The Founding of The First Greek Lettered Fraternity

    The first greek lettered fraternity was founded at William and Mary. This gave students an outlet to gather and create bonds outside of the classroom and it introduced the characteristics of modern fraternities.
  • The founding of the first law program

    The founding of the first law program

    The founding of the first law program in the U.S. was founded at William and Mary. This was the first institution to have this specialized degree to only teach law for the purpose of training those looking to go into the field.
  • The end of the Revolutionary War

    The end of the Revolutionary War

    The end of the revolutionary war marked the end of British rule in U.S. This sparked the beginning of the American system of education.
  • The Louisiana Purchase

    The Louisiana Purchase

    The Louisiana Purchase established land-grant universities in the new territory obtained by the United States. As the country expanded so did the need and want of universities.
  • The Founding of The American Education Society

    The Founding of The American Education Society

    The American Education Society was founded to support financially needy students preparing for the ministry and the formation of societies helped to preserve education.
  • Women at Oberlin

    Women at Oberlin

    Oberlin was the first higher ed institution to allow women to take classes in order to get an education. At this time it was only womens courses so not with the men but it was a step in the right direction for inclusion.
  • Yale's Graduate Department

    Yale's Graduate Department

    Yale established the first graduate department and the programs offered advanced studies that went beyond the original bachelors degree.
  • Morrill Land Grant Act

    Morrill Land Grant Act

    The Morrill Land Grant Act was the first time the government gave funds to states to build higher education institutions in an attempt to have colleges focused on agriculture, mechanical arts, and military tactics. This brought them away from the classical curriculum.
  • The Second Morrill Act of 1890

    The Second Morrill Act of 1890

    The Second Morrill Act was an expansion of the first Morrill Act. This act lead to the creation of the historically black colleges that are still in existence today.
  • College Entrance Examination Board

    College Entrance Examination Board

    The college entrance examination board was created to have a standardize college admissions process. This eventually trickled down into how the high school curriculum was taught and lead to selectivity in college admissions.
  • The Founding of The AAU

    The Founding of The AAU

    The founding of the Association of American University happened in 1900 with 14 of the leading universities with PHD programs. Their main goals were to promote uniformity in doctoral programs.
  • The Smith-Lever Act

    The Smith-Lever Act

    The Smith-Lever Act was a federal law that connected land-grant universities with the communities to help boost knowledge and put the research and findings to practical use like in agriculture.
  • AAUP- Statement of Principle

    AAUP- Statement of Principle

    This document outlines that academic freedom and the freedom of teachers to research, teach, and allows for professors to speak on academic and public issues without fear of censorship or punishment.
  • Serviceman's Act of 1944

    Serviceman's Act of 1944

    The GI Bill was a great help to that and helped push more veterans to go to school, this came with a lot of change to what we knew before as traditional higher education. The increased enrollment and the varied people made institutions piviot, there was a need for more instructors, more residence halls, and even more options when it came to majors and classes offered.
  • Affirmative Action

    Affirmative Action

    Affirmative Action was a federal law that required universities to allow equal opportunity for students to be admitted into school without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin. This was an federal mandate to prohibited discrimination in schools.
  • Founding of The National Association of Financial Aid Officers

    Founding of The National Association of Financial Aid Officers

    The founding of this association was to make a formal body that could represent the political interests of student aid at the national level. This provided a means of communication among financial aid personnel and offer educational programs for the professional development.
  • The creation of the college level examination board program

    The creation of the college level examination board program

    The creation of the college level examination board program was made to provide college credit for knowledge gained through life experience, work, or independent study. This allowed people to shorten the time to earn a degree which made education more accessible for those who could not be a traditional college student.
  • Carnegie Commission

    Carnegie Commission

    The Carnegie Commission researched issues in American higher education and made influential recommendations. This lead to the Pell Grant as well.
  • Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

    Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

    Regents vs. Bakke upheld race-conscious admissions while also limiting affirmative action. This made it so it could not be used to further discriminate against minorities.
  • Renaming of Pell grant

    Renaming of Pell grant

    This type aid was a federal financial aid specifically meant for undergraduate students. It was named after Senator Claiborne Pell because of his commitment and key role in making this grant possible.
  • Americans with Disabilities Act

    Americans with Disabilities Act

    The Americans with Disabilities act prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. This allowed for students with disabilities to access higher education without discrimination.
  • Clery Act

    Clery Act

    This act requires colleges and universities to disclose information about campus crime and safety policies to the students and community. This is supposed to help students be aware and vigilant.
  • Civil Rights Act

    Civil Rights Act

    This act made it so universities cannot discriminated against race, color, national origin, religion, and sex.