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1150
University of Paris
The University of Paris or the Sorbonne was founded in 1150, which was one of the earliest universities of medieval Europe. It initially owned four faculties consisting of Arts, Medicine, Law, and Theology, and its educational model considerably influenced the later medieval universities. -
1167
University of Oxford
The origin of the University of Oxford can date back to the medieval times, since which it have enjoyed high prestige and continuous existence. It promoted the advancement of learning in the middle times and cultivated many talents needed in different areas. -
1209
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge, one of the important medieval universities, was founded in Cambridge, England in 1209 by a group of scholars escaping from the University of Oxford. It provided a wealth of courses to its students and furthered their study interests. -
1229
University of Paris strike of 1229
The University of Paris strike of 1229 resulted from regal punishments of the university students due to their physical fights with the local taverners. The University resorted to a strike to express its angry complaints about the deaths of its students in the punishment. This event led to many of the following university reforms. -
1231
Parens Scientiarum
After the strike of 1229, Pope Gregory IX issued the bull Parens Scientiarum in 1231 for the University of Paris in order to protect its independence and self-governance. -
Harvard College
Harvard College, the first college in colonial America, was founded in 1636. It modeled its operation and curriculum on that of Cambridge, and the Harvard pattern then affected the following colonial colleges. -
College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary received its loyal charter in 1693. It was greatly affected by Scottish patterns and controlled by a board of trustees of more laymen than church officials. -
Yale College
Yale College was established in 1701 by Congregationalists. -
College of Philadelphia
College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania), the only nonsectarian college in the colonial era, was formed in 1740 by a group of donors. It had an inclusive atmosphere tolerant of different religious groups and a three-year curriculum shorter than that in other colonial colleges. -
College of Rhode Island
College of Rhode Island, known today as Brown University came into being in 1765. It gave equal opportunities to different religious denominations, offered a flexible and broad curriculum, and listed its student names in an alphabetical order rather than following their family ranks. -
Dartmouth College Case
Dartmouth College Case was a landmark Supreme Court case impacting American higher education. After the case, Dartmouth College remained private, and the nature of private institutions was protected. -
University of Virginia
University of Virginia was established in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson with no religious affiliation. It provided courses of modern languages, science as well as architecture, and it was distinctive for a code of honor that had few checks and balances. -
Yale Report of 1828
The Yale Report of 1828 was an influential document in American higher education history which was written by Yale College faculty in defense of classical curriculum. -
Oberlin College
Oberlin College was founded in 1833. It was the first college that admitted students regardless of gender and race. -
Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862
The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 provided each eligible state a portion of federal lands, and the states were required to use the land sale proceeds to create and fund their collegiate programs around agriculture, mechanics, and military tactics. -
Morrill Land Grant Act of 1890
The second Morrill Land Grant Act began in 1890. It offered federal funding for institutions that did not use race as their admission standards, and it further extended the land-grant program to southern states. -
College Entrance Examination Board
The College Entrance Examination Board was formed in 1899 by three preparatory schools and twelve universities with the aim of standardizing the admission testing and broadening student access. It helped simplify and uniform the college enrollments and contributed to today's entrance examinations as ACT, SAT, TOEFL and GRE. -
Association of American Universities (AAU)
The Association of American Universities (AAU) was founded in 1900 with an initial membership of 14. Its primary purpose was to promote quality programs and academic standards of higher education. -
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and received a national charter one year later. Many of its major activities have profoundly influenced American higher education including the Carnegie unit, Flexner Report, its pension plan for college teachers which later became Teachers Insurance Annuity Association of America (TIAA), and the Educational Testing Service that grew out of its promotion of a consolidated test agency. -
American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) was founded in 1915 surrounding the issues of academic freedom, institutional governance, higher education standards, and economic security. The AAUP proposed 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure and 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure. It valued educational professions, protected academic freedom, facilitated shared governance, and developed the economic status of the profession. -
Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill)
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly considered as G.I. Bill aided returning veterans with unemployment compensation, educational benefits, medical care, and purchase loans. This law was a success; it helped millions of veterans adjust to the civilian life and greatly increased higher education enrollments. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was an American supreme court case in 1954 against the separate but equal treatment of children in public schools. It ruled that racial segregation was unequal, and the ruling was later expanded to higher education in the case Florida ex rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control in 1956. -
Affirmative Action
Influenced by the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, President Kennedy in 1961 included affirmative action in Executive Order 10925. It encouraged equal opportunities for the underrepresented groups in institutions and employment, and led to an increased number of minorities enrolled in higher education. -
Carnegie Commission on Higher Education
The Carnegie Commission on Higher Education led by Clark Kerr was established in 1967 and expired in 1973. Its reports and documents mainly focused on themes of quality and equality, funding and leadership, and institutional reforms. Its comprehensive review of higher education on the most vital issues in the field not only generated changes in policy and practice such as the Health Manpower Act of 1971, but also increased available knowledge within the community. -
Title IX
Title IX was signed in to law in 1972 in order to ban sex discrimination in educational programs and job markets. It helped create equal access for women to enter different fields especially higher education, and resulted in an increase of women in intercollegiate athletics. -
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) released in 1974 intended to protect the privacy of students' education records and ensure the rights of eligible parents and students to access the records. -
Bayh–Dole Act
Sponsored by senators Birch Bayh and Bob Dole, Congress in 1980 passed the Bayh–Dole Act which allowed non-profit research institutions and small business the right to pursue the title to inventions made with federal funding and helped the technology commercialization. -
Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan
The supreme court case Mississippi University for Women v. Hogan in 1982 challenged the single-sex admission policy and considered it as gender discrimination. -
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act
The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act was authorized in 1984 intended to improve the practical education in the United States. -
Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986
The United States Federal Technology Transfer Act of 1986 dealt with the transfer of the federally funded technology from agencies to markets and encouraged its effective application. It also influenced the follow up legislation such as the Small Business Technology Transfer Act of 1992 and Small Business Research and Development Enhancement Act. -
Doherty v. Southern College of Optometry
In the case of Doherty v. Southern College of Optometry (1988), the court ruled that "applicants must be accepted in spite of their handicaps if they could become qualifies to participate in the program with the aid of reasonable accommodations" (Cohen & Kisker, 2010, p. 341). -
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) banned discrimination to the disabled people in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications. It brought about improvements in access to buildings and transportation, and helped build a more inclusive community. -
School to Work Opportunities Act (STWOA)
The School to Work Opportunities Act was enacted in 1994 in response to the needs for more school-to-employment programs. The act provided students with many work-based experiences and better prepared them for their future careers. Most importantly, the act increased students' participation in schools and improved their academic achievements. -
California Proposition 209
California Proposition 209 was approved by California voters in 1996 against preferential treatment. It prohibited discrimination in education and employment based on race, gender, ethnicity, and national origin. -
Meredith v. Jefferson County School Board
In the 2007 court case of Meredith v. Jefferson County School Board, the ruling was that "school districts could no longer assign students based on their race, but it left it open the possibility of assignments that considered socioeconomic measures such as income, assets, or parental level of schooling attained" (Cohen & Kisker, 2010, p. 440). -
College Cost Reduction and Access Act
The College Cost Reduction and Access Act was signed into law on September 27, 2007 in order to provide students with financial support to access higher education. Its key provisions include Pell Grant increase, Income Based Repayment plan, Interest rate cut, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. -
Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008
The Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 was a new supplement of G.I. Bill. It provided comprehensive educational benefits to veterans and servicemembers and their family members.
