According to a research paper published on Texas Community Colleges, “the first community colleges in Texas were called ‘junior colleges;’” Tuttle. Dallas Baptist College was introduced as the first supported ‘junior college’ and offered a “church sponsored, two-year educational program that was similar to what was offered as standard in the first two-years of a four-year university program;” Tuttle.
In 1969, the “Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board took controlling interest in ‘junior colleges;’ and expanded their breadth in curriculum;” Texas Constitution and Statutes, Sec. 130.001. Students that attended junior colleges could reduce educational costs as the main goal of attending a ‘junior college’ was to obtain transferable credits for attendance in four-year college / university programs. By the 1970s, term of ‘junior college’ was renamed to ‘community college’ and “later ‘vocational education’ was offered as an alternative to basic college curriculum;” Texas Constitution and Statutes, Sec. 130.0011.
THE ADVENT OF EDUCATION FOR-PROFIT
In 1976, a competitor to community colleges came about which offered “an evening MBA program for ‘working adults.’” Initially known to issue educational certificates in 1973, “Keller Graduate School of Management was acknowledged as fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) in 1977, becoming the first for-profit school to be accredited by the association;” Wikipedia.
In 1987, Bell & Howell Company, headquartered in Wheeling, Illinois; sold DeVry Inc. to Keller Graduate School of Management, which merged and expanded its educational programs as DeVry Inc. DeVry Inc. was bought by Bell & Howell Company in 1961 and originally named De Forest Training School by its founder Dr. Herman A. DeVry. Herman Adolf DeVry was an “inventor and aviator; known for creating the first portable motion picture projector;” Wikipedia. Lee de Forest was recognized as “‘the inventor of regeneration’ and a colleague of Dr. Herman A. DeVry;” Wikipedia. The educational institution was renamed DeVry Institute of Technology in 1968-1969.
Historically, DeVry Institute of Technology was approved to issue associate and bachelor’s degrees in electronics in 1970; having earned its accreditation through the Technology Accreditation Commission (TAC); which was part of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). It is recorded as “a ‘fully accredited’ degree granting institution in 1981;” Higher Learning Commission.