Former names
|
Strayer's Business College Strayer College |
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Motto | Transformation through Education |
Type | Private, 4-year, for-profit university |
Established | 1892 |
President | Brian W. Jones |
Students | 42,975 |
Location | United States |
Campus | Online, and 78 U.S. campuses |
Website | www |
Traded as |
NASDAQ: STRA S&P 600 Component |
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Website | www |
Strayer University is a United States-based private, for-profit higher education institution. It was founded in 1892 as Strayer's Business College and later became Strayer College, before being granted university status in 1998. Strayer University operates under the holding company, Strayer Education Inc. (NASDAQ: STRA), which was established in 1996.
The university enrolls about 40,000 students through its online learning programs, and at 78 campuses located in 15 U.S. States and Washington D.C. The university specializes in degree programs for working adults and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in subjects such as accounting, business administration, criminal justice, education, health services administration, information technology and public administration. Strayer University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
Dr. Siebert Irving Strayer founded Strayer's Business College in Baltimore, Maryland in 1892. Strayer established the college to teach business skills to former farm workers, including shorthand, typing and accounting. Thomas W. Donoho joined the school in 1902. In its first decade of operations, enrollment at the school gradually increased, attracting students from other states, and in 1904 Strayer opened a branch of the school in Washington, D.C.
Enrollment further expanded as demand for trained accountants grew after the passage of the Revenue Act of 1913 and World War I increased the need for government clerks with office skills. During the 1930s, the college was authorized to grant collegiate degrees in accountancy by Washington, D.C.'s board of education. The school founded Strayer Junior College in 1959, when it was given the right to confer two-year degrees. In 1969, the college received the accreditation needed to grant four-year Bachelor of Arts degrees and was renamed Strayer College.
From the 1980s to the late 1990s, Strayer College grew rapidly; enrollment increased from approximately 1,800 in 1981 and 2,000 in 1983, to around 9,000 by 1997. The college expanded the range of degree programs and courses it offered to include subjects such as data processing management and health care management. In 1987, the college was given authorization to grant Master of Science degrees. During the 1990s, the college began to focus on offering information technology courses. According to The Washington Times, high demand for computer training due to the increased use of computers in offices and movement toward "knowledge-based" employment led to higher enrollment at Strayer. In addition, Strayer began providing training programs in computer information systems for companies including AT&T Corporation and government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service. In 1996, the college launched Strayer Online to offer classes via the Internet.