Career College Central

Subscribe at www.careercollegecentral.com 7 from the e roots of the Accrediting were set in place in years, the private career gestation period, the of bookkeeping, accounting, typewriting and machine population was largely growing percentage later as office workers. e public sector the postsecondary and private schools. Although the private sector, it the individual instructional better methods of placing and strategy of the of the number of schools of the nation The story is a little cloudy at the beginning. Like a foggy memory, there are images with a loose outline to them that begin to take shape, and eventually everything comes clearly into view — we can all see a progression of events that hasn't relented, even to this day. Published in 2007, the Imagine America Foundation's history book, "In Service to America: Celebrating 165 Years of Career and Professional Education," is a treasure trove of dates, grainy photos and facts that help bring some form to the very beginning of the sector that spawned thousands of career colleges and universities throughout our nation. America is now filled with colleges and universities offering certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in more than 200 fields to about 2 million students every year nationwide. roughout the next several editions of Career College Central, we will offer you a historical look at career education, our humble beginnings and the spirit of innovation that has led to our significant growth through four centuries. Part of this story, of course, involves survival, which is a particularly fitting lesson for us all with the current negativity being concentrated on our sector. Our roots are deep, and our accomplishments are real. A sector built on shallow ground could not last as long as we have. e story of private career education and the eventual building of the schools that offer it is one of growth and innovation, and it begins loosely with Benjamin Franklin. Once upon a time in career education, things were quite different ... e beginning: 1709 According to historians, the details about the first private schools devoted to training for business are unclear. But what is evident is that private schools offered vocational or business education years before our public education system was created. With New York and Boston becoming important trade centers for the colonies, the art of bookkeeping was formalized. Many tutors offered instruction in bookkeeping in these cities before 1700. We know for certain that John Green offered it in Boston in 1709, and George Brownell taught bookkeeping in New York in 1731. e first recorded school to teach vocational subjects was more than likely the Academy of Philadelphia. e school was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1749. e Academy later became the University of Pennsylvania, but its earliest incarnation provided an education to area merchants in subjects such as arithmetic; accounts; the history of commerce; and French, German and Spanish. Originally, Franklin intended the Academy to teach practical subjects, especially English. But gradually that focus was lost, and it became a traditional college. e Academy dropped English for Latin, and whatever interest had been built in teaching vocational subjects evaporated. is trend has continued to the present day as career colleges begin with the intent to provide career-specific training and eventually follow a path to more traditional education, oen in hopes of drawing in more students for longer education cycles.

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