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1079
Peter Abelard Born
Peter Abelard was born in 1079. He is important for how he influenced the trajectory of philosophical thought by shaping it to take on a more rational direction. He is also considered the founder of the University. -
1088
University of Bologna Founded
The University of Bologna, the first University, was founded in Italy in 1088. It was structured as a corporation of students. It still remains in operation today. -
1150
University of Paris Founded
The University of Paris was founded in 1150 and is significant as it showcases a model of an institution that was a corporation of teachers, not of students like the University of Bologna was. -
Apr 13, 1231
Parens Scientiarum
Pope Gregory IX issued the Parens Scientiarum in 1231 which placed the University of Paris under papal patronage and gave teachers increased autonomy. -
1245
Thomas Acquinas at University of Paris
Thomas Acquinas began his studies at the University of Paris in 1245. He went on to become an extremely influential philosopher and theologian. He was influential in the spread of theistic realism. -
Harvard Founded
The founding of Harvard is important because it was the first of the original 9 colleges formed in the Colonies and it is still one of the most prominent Universities today. -
College of Philadelphia Founded
The College of Philadelphia’s founding in 1740 is important as it is the first college in the colonies that did not have a primary religious affiliation. The College of Philadelphia became what we now know as Penn State. -
Dartmouth Founding
The founding of Dartmouth College in 1769 was the last of the original nine colleges to be established in the Colonial era. It is also still in existence today. -
Declaration of Independence Signed
The American Revolution is particularly relevant to the history of higher education.The signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 is one of the most significant dates of the Revolutionary period. -
Degrees conferred by end of Colonial Era: 200
Only 200 degrees were conferred by the end of the Colonial era in 1789. This is significant because it demonstrates the stark contrast to the industry that American Higher Education has become. Later in the timeline you will see how many degrees were conferred in 2005. -
Lousiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 facilitated a migration westward and the created the concept of Manifest Destiny that would help shape the history of higher education. It created new markets for colleges across the country since traveling back to the east coast for college would not have been practical at the time. -
Darthmouth College vs Woodward
The supreme court case of Dartmouth College vs Woodward in 1819 is important because it determined that the state could not invalidate a contract or take over a charter and resulted in Dartmouth staying a private institution. This set a precedent that would protect contracts and limit state power. -
Yale Report
The Yale Report of September 1828 was a key event in the Emergent Nation Era. The report examined the process of education versus the end result and was significant in terms of the continued importance of a liberal arts education in American higher education which is still prominent today. -
Homestead Act of 1862
The Homestead Act of 1862 essentially gave away land to people who were willing to settle westward. This resulted in millions of acres of the country being settled which created a market for colleges and universities throughout the western states. -
Morrill Land-Grant College Act
The Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862 was significant because it provided the financial capital for the creation of many US institutions. Schools were funded through the sale of federal land throughout the country. This was one of the most significant, early instances in which the federal government supported higher education and helps to demonstrate how higher ed has historically been reliant on state and federal funding in order to grow and thrive. -
Morrill Act of 1890
The Morrill Act of 1890 expanded on the Morrill Act of 1862 by once again creating the financial capital for the creation of more colleges throughout the country. Both acts funded colleges that would support the teaching of argiculture and military tactics, which were seen to be beneficial to the country. -
Formation of College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB)
The formation of the CEEB resulted from the huge increase in applications for enrollment at universities. Due to the increased demand, colleges needed to begin to limit who they admitted, and needed a way to do so. The developed tests that could be used to try and act as an indicator for success. The most relevant example of a test administered by the CEEB is the SAT. -
Creation of the Association of American Universities (AAU)
The AAU was founded by 14 university presidents in 1900. They worked to standardize admissions practices and promote a standard of excellence. Today, they address many issues that higher education faces, and allow universities to do so in a united way. There are now over 60 universities that are part of the AAU. -
Creation of American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
The AAUP began as a group of professors whose mission was to promote academic freedom, shared governance and economic security, and the professionalization of the career. They advocated against wrongful termination and eventually fought for tenure. -
Student Army Training Cops (SATC) founded
Woodrow Wilson's creation of the Student Army Training Corps (SATC) in 1917 was a key factor that kept colleges and universities viable during World War I. Basically, the government offered funding to universities to train cadets and officers so that they would have well trained units. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. -
AAUP Statement of Principle
The 1940 AAUP Statement of Principle helped further shape the sense of academic freedom that the AAUP had been advocating for and asserted that tenure was a right. It also argued for the right of faculty to share in institutional governance. -
Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill)
The passing of the GI Bill in 1944 played a role in changing the landscape of who went to college and began an era where higher education became increasingly necessary for upward mobility. It allowed federal support for those that served in the military to attend college. This created a huge influx of students into universities, many of whom would likely not have attended college without the legislation. -
Truman Commission
The Truman Commission of 1947 signified the beginning of federal support of higher education by publicly acknowledging the value of it and supporting the expansion of its goals. The commission created a list of 10 recommendations. While it didn't exactly implement most of the changes, it offered a blueprint for federal financial aid and expanded the role of community colleges. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 ruled that separate educational facilities were inherently not equal and marked the beginning of desegregation of educational institutions. It did not lay out a plan for how to achieve desegregation in schools but it lay the legal groundwork to make it happen. It marked a huge shift in education as a whole, and truly changed the face of higher education as we know it. -
Affirmative Action
Affirmative Action came about in a 1961 executive order by JFK where he determined that government contractor must be treat applicants and employees equal, regardless of race. In higher education, it is significant because it meant that racial discrimination in admissions practices could not be tolerated and led to school valuing the idea of diversity. It has been controversial ever since, but overall had an extremely positive impact on higher education. -
Higher Education Act of 1965
The Higher Education Act of 1965 was incredibly important as it focused federal support on tuition and enrollment instead of research. It lead to the creation of numerous programs that are still in effect today that make it possible to students from a variety of backgrounds to pursue a college degree. -
Basic Educational Opportunities Grants program
The Basic Educational Opportunities Grants program (BEOG) which was enacted in 1972 offered guaranteed financial aid to any applicant who met it’s terms. It was significant because they were awarded to the student, not the institution, so students were entitled to them no matter where they chose to attend college. We now know this program as Pell Grants. -
Title IX
Title IX was signed into law by President Nixon in 1972. It was co-authored by Birch Bayh and Patsy Mink and determined that any school or university receiving federal funds could not discriminate on the basis of sex. This applied to the access to educational programs and to offered activities such as athletics. It also provided that those discriminated against could sue for damages. -
FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act was enacted to protect student educational records and privacy as well as give parents and eligible students access to educational records. These provisions did not exist before FERPA. It is also known as "buckley amendment" after James Buckley of New York. It was signed into law by Gerald Ford. -
Beach v. University of Utah
Beach v. University of Utah, which was decided by the Utah Supreme Court in 1986, determined that universities were not required to assume a role of maintaining custody over their adult students after a student tried to seek damages from the University when she injured herself while intoxicated. The court ruled in the University's favor and this challenged the concept of in loco parentis. -
Americans with Disabilities Act
The Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 offers protections against discrimination and requires institutions to make reasonable accommodations and ensure accessibility. It was signed into law by George H.W. Bush. -
Patriot Act Enacted
The Patriot Act was a enacted as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The Act was significant to higher education because it resulted in the implementation of SEVIS which was intended to monitor the flow of international students and scholars. The Patriot Act also had provisions that allowed for increased surveillance which allowed the government access to student records. -
Grutter and Gratz v. Bollinger
These two linked Supreme Court Cases addressed challenges to affirmative action in connection to white students who had been rejected admission at the University of Michigan. While the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the University in Grutter, the Gratz case ruled that the University violated the Equal Protection Clause by implementing a point system that gave minority students a set number of points for being from a minority. -
Degrees awarded: 2,936,095
There were 2,936,095 degrees awarded in 2005. The is a noteworthy reflection on the fact that at the end of the Colonial Era in 1789, only 200 degrees were awarded. This helps to demonstrate the astronomical growth of the higher education industry in the United States -
Virginia Tech Massacre
A student shot and killed 27 students and 5 faculty members before killing himself in April 2007. It was the deadliest mass shooting in US history by a single person up to that date. It created an opportunity to clarify FERPA but also lead colleges to institute emergency response plans and pay more attention to campus security. -
Higher Education Opportunity Act
The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 increased the maximum amount of Pell awards and Perkins loans, required institutions to report reasons for tuition increases, list the cost of textbooks, and report the use of endowment funds to reduce the costs of their programs, among other things. It also reauthorized the Higher Education Act of 1965.
