Existing comment:
Public Higher Education
Higher education has always been an important tool in overcoming economic barriers. The District did not have the state college system that provided reasonably priced higher education for residents of the 50 states. Its only public higher education institution, District of Columbia Teachers College, operated under the authority of the school board and had a student body of less than a thousand.
A blue-ribbon panel report to the President in 1964 (The Chase Report) found that the absence in DC of post-high school educational opportunities for those unable to afford private institutions significantly curtailed opportunities for DC citizens. The final report left no doubt that publicly supported institutions should be provided.
Federal legislation subsequently authorized two new public colleges in DC: the Washington Technical Institute (WTI) and the Federal City College (FCC). They began classes in the fall of 1968 with an open admission policy that attracted 15,000 registrants. Both offered courses relevant to the populations they served at locations students could reach via public transit. |