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First Community College
Joliet Community College inIllinois—the Nation’s first junior college—added a fifth and sixth year of courses to a high school curriculum. -
Period: to
COMMUNITY COLLEGE HISTORY
An overview of the history of community colleges in the United States -
Low enrollments
In the1920s, enrollments were low, and the few community colleges in existence offered general liberal arts programs. -
The Great Depression
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, however,community colleges began to provide job training programs as a way to ease widespread unemployment. This trend toward job training continued through the 1940s and 1950s. -
Boomers
In the 1960s, baby boomers began reaching college age,and the number of community colleges and enrollmentssoared. Many new public community colleges were builtduring the decade. This growth coincided with a largeincrease in student enrollment—from about 1 million studentsin 1965 to about 2.2 million by 1970. -
Enrollment doubles
During the 1970s, community colleges became a major part of the American educational system, with enrollments almost doubling again from 2.2 million in 1970 to 4.3 million by 1980. -
Factors of increased enrollment
The enrollment increase resulted from three factors: Baby boomers continued to come of age, more parents desired post secondary education for their children, and students sought draft deferment during the Vietnam War. -
Boom slows
The community college boom slowed in the latter part of the century, with enrollment growing only 23 percent between1980 and 1999. Total enrollments were about 5.3 million in1999. -
2001 academic year
As of the 2000-01 academic year, there were 1,076 community colleges.
