Talk:Strayer University/Draft version

Strayer University is a United States-based private, for-profit higher education institution. 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. It was founded in 1892 as Strayer's Business College and later became Strayer College, before being granted university status in 1998. Strayer University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and currently has approximately 50,000 students at over 90 campuses in 23 U.S. states and online.

Foundation and early history
Dr. S. Irving Strayer founded Strayer's Business College in Baltimore in 1892. Strayer established the college to teach business skills to former farm workers, including shorthand, typing and accounting. 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.

Expansion in late 1980s and 1990s
From the 1980s to the late 1990s, Strayer College grew rapidly; enrollment increased from approximately 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 and government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service. In 1996, the college launched Strayer Online to offer classes via the Internet.

Recent history as Strayer University
In 1998, Strayer College was granted university status by the District of Columbia Education Licensure Commission and became Strayer University. An increased demand for college degrees among working adults led to Strayer's continued expansion during the early and mid-2000s, establishing its first campus locations outside of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Florida. According to the University’s website, Strayer University now operates additional campuses in Delaware, New Jersey, Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Utah, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

In December 2011, the university acquired the Jack Welch Management Institute from Chancellor University. The institute offers a fully online Executive MBA program, as well as certificate programs.

Campuses and online
Strayer University's flagship campus is located in Washington, D.C. with additional campus locations based mainly in the eastern, southern and Midwestern U.S. The university has more than 90 campuses in both cities and suburban areas located in 23 U.S. states.

The university also has an online offering that allows students to study for bachelor's and master's degree programs via the Internet, and is available to students worldwide. Strayer University offers full degree courses that are entirely web-based, but students at the university can also take a combination of online and campus-based courses. , approximately 30,000 students (including campus-based and global students) took 100 percent of their courses online.

Mission
The university focuses on providing higher education to working adult students and its class schedules and campus locations are designed to be accessible for this group. The courses offered by the university are practical and business-focused, including courses in business administration and information technology.

Academic programs and accreditation
Strayer University's academic programs include undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and certificates in subjects such as accounting, business administration, criminal justice, education, health services administration, human resource management, information technology and public administration.

The Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University was established by Jack Welch following his retirement from General Electric, and was acquired by Strayer University in 2011. The institute offers executive MBA degrees and other programs for professionals. Welch is involved in preparing the curriculum for the program and appears in videos focusing on business current events. The acquisition of the Institute added an online Executive MBA to Strayer University's existing MBA program.

Strayer University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (part of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools), one of the six regional accrediting bodies recognized by the Department of Education. In addition, Strayer University holds the necessary licencing and approvals to operate and grant degrees in each state where its campuses are located, according to the University's website.

Admissions
The admissions requirement for undergraduate degree programs at Strayer University is a high school diploma or its equivalent. For graduate degrees other than the Executive MBA, admissions requirements include a bachelor's degree from an accredited college. Graduate students must meet at least one of the following criteria: a minimum 2.75 undergraduate grade point average during junior and senior years of the degree; a minimum score of 450 on the Graduate Management Admission Test; a minimum score of 1,000 on the Graduate Record Examination; or demonstration that they are of "graduate potential". Admissions requirements for the Executive MBA program include a minimum 3.0 undergraduate grade point average from an accredited university, five years of management experience and completion of an admission application.

Faculty and students
More than half the courses at Strayer University are taught by full-time professors who are required to have the highest possible degree in their academic area. The remaining courses are taught by adjunct professors, who are generally professionals with "real-world experience" in their field.

Strayer University's total number of students is approximately 50,000. According to the university, two thirds of Strayer's students are women and over half are African American or Hispanic. Since the early 2000s, Strayer University has had a high proportion of minority students. The college has had more women students than men since the late 1990s. The average age of students at the college is approximately 33, and the majority work full-time.

Alumni
Noteworthy alumni of Strayer University include retired Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Robert Magnus; Joe Doherty, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Government Solutions Sector for ACS, a Xerox Company; Sasha Mirchandani, founder and managing partner of Kae Capital; and Darryl Perkinson, Presidential Appointee to the National Council on Federal Labor-Management Relations and National President of the Federal Managers Association.

Strayer Education, Inc.
Strayer Education, Inc., is a publicly traded corporation (nasdaq: STRA), established as a holding company for the college and other assets in 1996. The company was created to take what was then Strayer College public and raise capital for expansion. Its corporate headquarters are in Herndon, Virginia.

In 2010, the Washington Post named Silberman the most highly compensated CEO in the Washington, D.C., area based on an incentive compensation package of $40 million in restricted stock grants that will vest in 2019.