This timeline was created by Samantha Sonkowsky, a graduate student in the Student Affairs Administration program at the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse. This is a survey of the history of higher education and important historical events leading up to present day American higher education.
Formerly the "New College" or "the college at New Towne" located in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The Bay Psalm Book was the first book printed in North America. First printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The constitution of the General Assembly of Rhode Island is drafted, separating church and state, as well as permitting public referendums and initiatives in legislation.
Becomes the first legalized corporation in the American colonies.
Located in the Colony of Virginia. The college was established to help provide education for potential clergymen while providing a well rounded education for America’s youth (Rudolph, 1990, p. 7).
Formerly the Collegiate School located in the Connecticut Colony. Yale sought to be “a safe, sound institution where the faith of the fathers was carefully protected” (Rudolph, 1990, p. 10).
Formerly the College of New Jersey located in the Province of New Jersey.
Formerly King's College located in the Province of New York.
Formerly the College of Philadelphia located in the Province of Pennsylvania.
Formerly the College of Rhode Island located in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
Formerly Queen's College located in the Province of New Jersey.
Located in the Province of New Hampshire.
Most of the colonial colleges were disrupted by events of the Revolutionary War. The College of Rhode Island was occupied by French allies; Yale was bombarded by British navy; the College of Philadelphia and College of William and Mary closed briefly; and the King’s College building was in the hands of the British army from 1776 to 1783. Dartmouth, however, largely escaped disruption.
The South Carolina College is established, later it would be renamed the University of South Carolina. On Dec. 19, 1801, as part of an effort to unite South Carolinians in the wake of the American Revolution. South Carolina's leaders saw the new college as a way to promote "the good order and harmony" of the state. The founding of South Carolina College was also a part of the Southern public college movement spurred by Thomas Jefferson. Within 20 years of one another, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia established state-supported colleges.
A landmark court case, Dartmouth College v. Woodward, was conducted when the state of Massachusetts attempted to overtake the administration of the privately chartered institution. The Supreme Court upheld the original contract, setting a precedent for contract law that affects areas far surpassing that of education.
One of the most influential documents in the history of American higher education. The report was made up of 2 parts: a discussion about liberal education, and an argument for keeping Greek and Latin literature apart of the college curriculum.
On this day, it held the institutions first graduation ceremony.
Harvard begins experimenting with elective courses as alternative to the traditional fixed curriculum at the urging of President Quincy and his science faculty.
Massachusetts industrialist Abbott Lawrence gives $50,000 to Harvard to open the Lawrence Scientific School, intended to provide expanded instruction in applied science and engineering. Additionally, Joseph Sheffield gives the first of several gifts to Yale College to expand its instruction in applied science and engineering, later named the Sheffield Scientific School.
The Civil War hit a number of institutions very hard by emptying their halls of students. Harvard sent 583 students directly from the classroom to the battlefield in Union uniforms and 70 more to the Confederacy. South Carolina College virtually closed its doors as its students joined the Confederate army and its buildings were used as military hospitals. Enrollment in the University of Missouri dropped from 168 to 23. The story of the war’s effects on these colleges did not end with the war. Northern colleges were transformed by the Morrill Land Grant College Act, which resulted in the establishment of 43 land-grant-funded colleges by 1879 and the reorganization of many others to take advantage of the land-grant funding.
One of the most revolutionary laws that forever changed American Higher Education. Introduced by Vermont congressman Justin Smith Morrill and signed into law by noneother than President Abraham Lincoln himself, the Morrill Act of 1862 granted each state with public lands to create universities specializing in agriculture, mechanics, and military tactics.
Even with the enactment of the Morrill Act of 1862, the Federal government was unable to gain cooperation from the Southern States in the provision of land-grant support to the Negro institutions. To overcome this problem, a second Morrill Act was passed in 1890 specifically to support the Negro Land-Grant institutions. Thus, the Negro Land- Grant institutions are referred to today as “The 1890 Institutions.” Those Southern States which did not have Negro institutions by 1890 each established one later under this Act.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Plessy v. Ferguson allows for “separate but equal” public facilities. Many Historically Black Colleges and Universities were created in response to this decision and in an effort to be compliant with the Morrill Act of 1890.
As a response to the changing face of higher education, the Association of American Universities is founded with several prominent colleges as charter members. The incorporation of the German model of a university into U.S. higher education marked the beginnings of our modern-day research institutions offering graduate coursework in addition to undergraduate degrees.
Charles Van Hise introduces The Wisconsin Idea, which emphasizes the university’s importance to the survival and successful functioning of the state.
Institutions begin to really feel the blow of the stock market crash and the depression. Large endowments by private individuals have vanished. Enrollment increases as a continuation of the great push for higher education, but it now does so at public—rather than private— institutions.
The Student Personnel Point of View report is written in Washington, D.C. detailing how the Committee on Personnel Methods emphasizes its belief that schools must commit to the education and development of the individual as a whole, something that had largely fallen out of the jurisdiction of faculty and administration.
The U.S. is engaged in World War II. As men enlist and are drafted in the military, women find themselves in the student majority for the first time on college campuses.
The GI Bill is passed, providing housing, educational, and other financial assistance to returning veterans. The enrollment in the country’s colleges boomed as veterans used this funding to further their educations.
The President’s Commission on Higher Education releases a report, outlining the purpose and role of U.S. colleges and universities. It also examined the issue to institutions ill-prepared to handle the influx of students pursuing a higher education.
The 1937 version is revised with an new emphasis on the importance of including student growth and development, administrative, organization, and governance issues.
The University of California dismisses 31 professors for refusing to sign a loyalty oath, stating they are not apart of nor support the communist party. This requirement was later reversed by the Board of Regents.
Segregation is outlawed in the United States with Brown v. the Board of Education.
The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. The divisive war, increasingly unpopular at home, ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under Communist control two years later. More than 3 million people, including 58,000 Americans, were killed in the conflict.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of the most well-known and far-reaching contemporary civil rights statutes enacted by Congress. The act’s impact on colleges and universities has been immense in that it prohibits discrimination against students, employees, and prospective employees or applicants on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, and sex.
The Higher Education Act is passed, which provides comprehensive financial assistance to students and colleges. Students now have unprecedented access to higher education.
The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is adopted, guaranteeing the right to vote to all citizens 18 years of age and older. Prior to this, college campuses had consisted primarily of minors. This amendment changed that, and effectively changed the relationships between institutions and their students.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) is a Federal law. It is designed to provide parents or eligible students the right to: Inspect and review education records; Seek to amend education records; Have some control of disclosure of information from education records.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. It provided unprecedented protection for people with disabilities in all walks of life, including that of higher education. Since then, the range of accommodations offered has broadened, and the number of people with access to college has grown.
President Bill Clinton signs the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. It prohibits states from offering higher education benefit such as in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants. Unless the state itself passes legislation. By 2006, 10 states passed laws allowing undocumented immigrant students to qualify for in-state tuition benefits.
The U.S. was hit with a series of terrorist attacks as planes were hijacked by the Al-Qaeda Islamic Terrorist group and flown into the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. Many lives were lost and the U.S. remains at war in the Middle East.
"Congress implemented a series of measures designed to regulate the flow of international students and scholars into the United States. Some measures placed additional visa restrictions on foreign students, and others were designed to track and monitor the more than six hundred thousand aliens attending American colleges and universities" (Cohen & Kisker, 2009, p. 475).
The No Child Left Behind Act is approved by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush. The law, which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and replaces the Bilingual Education Act of 1968, mandates high-stakes student testing, holds schools accountable for student achievement levels, and provides penalties for schools that do not make adequate yearly progress toward meeting the goals set forth by the act.
Community colleges enrolled 6.2 million students, which accounted for 41% of all undergraduates and 2% of the entire U.S. population.
The Spellings Report, also referred to as a Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education is published. This report detailed exisiting issues in higher education and proposed solutions It proposed several solutions related to access, affordability, quality, accountability, and innovation.
A clinically depressed student opened fire on a killing spree at the Virgina Tech campus. He murdered 5 faculty members and 27 fellow students before taking his own life. This incident created an emphasis on campus safety and security and many universities adopted new policies and procedures as a result.
This act addressed new reporting requirements for higher education institutions, grant funding revisions (such as the Pell Grant), simplification of the application for financial aid for students, transparency in tuition increases for consumers, provided grants to assist institutions to create campus safety plans, and made remarks on the rules regarding the relationship between institutions and student loan lenders.
In 2008, the average time for bachelor's degree attainment rose. It was now normal to obtain a bachelor's degree within 5.5-6.1 academic years at four-year public and private colleges, respectively (National Center for Education Statistics, 2008a). Nearly all institutions completely stopped reporting degree attainment within 4 years.
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