This summer, Rogers State University will reach an institutional milestone as it commemorates its 25th year as an accredited four-year university.
Upon receiving official accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) in 2000, RSU became a four-year bachelor’s degree-granting university. The NCA is the accrediting agency for colleges and universities in the north central region of the U.S.
The accreditation allowed RSU to offer bachelor’s degrees beginning in the fall semester of 2000.
Among its earliest offered four-year degrees were in Business Information Technology, Applied Technology, Liberal Arts, and Social Sciences. These degrees were decided upon based on the needs at the time of prospective students as well as business and industry in Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma.
“This is a major advancement in providing higher education opportunities to the residents of Oklahoma,” RSU President Dr. Joe Wiley said at the time. “For too many years, the residents of Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma have had too few options for public higher education. Today marks the beginning of a new four-year university serving Claremore, Tulsa and all of Northeast Oklahoma.”
The transition of RSU to a regional, four-year university was part of the Oklahoma Legislature’s plan to expand higher education offerings in Northeast Oklahoma, and part of an initiative by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to increase the number of Oklahoma residents who hold bachelor’s degrees.
In addition, RSU was the first public university in Oklahoma to offer bachelor’s degrees – as well as two-year associate degrees – entirely online.
RSU’s four-year accreditation in 2000 marked the first time in nearly 30 years that a public two-year institution in Oklahoma made the transition to a four-year university, the previous being when Cameron University in Lawton made a similar move transition.
RSU’s landmark accreditation led to decades of continued growth for the university, with the addition of numerous new degrees and programs created to satisfy needs in the job market.
The university is currently planning an anniversary celebration this August to commemorate the university’s 25th year as an accredited four-year institution. Details will be announced soon.
In recognition of the university’s 25th year as a bachelor’s degree-bestowing institution, beginning in August, the university will be reflecting on RSU’s past quarter century through social media posts and website stories to recognize significant dates in Hill history.
RSU’s History:
Founded in 1909 – just two years after Oklahoma was granted statehood – RSU was originally established as Eastern University Preparatory School in Claremore with the mission to prepare the sons and daughters of Native Americans, farmers and ranchers for their entry into the colleges and universities of Oklahoma.
The university’s iconic Preparatory Hall was constructed from 1909-11 and housed the entire operation of the school until it closed in 1917 due to the changing needs of residents.
Two years later, the institution returned, this time, as the Oklahoma Military Academy, in response to the needs of area residents and the United States Armed Forces, and by 1923, the OMA offered secondary education and two years of college to young men.
In 1971, OMA closed and – again, in response to changing educational needs, this time, a rapidly developing technological and industrial economy – was replaced with the new Claremore Junior College, with the mission to provide a variety of high-quality two-year associate’s degree programs.
In 1982, the institution was renamed Rogers State College, and in 1996, the Oklahoma Legislature approved the merger of Rogers State College and the University Center at Tulsa (UCAT) – a consortium of the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, Northeastern State University, and Langston University, and the new institution was named Rogers State University.
Two years later, the Oklahoma Legislature separated the institutions, creating a branch of Oklahoma State University in Tulsa and Rogers State University as a new regional university with a main campus in Claremore.
The Oklahoma Legislature granted permission for RSU to create and seek accreditation for its own four-year bachelor’s degrees, while continuing to offer high-quality two-year associate’s degrees, and in 2000, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA) Commission on Institutions on Higher Education granted RSU accreditation as a four-year baccalaureate degree-granting institution.
Subsequently, the university opened campuses in Bartlesville and Pryor and today, Rogers State University is the only four-year public residential university in the Tulsa metropolitan area. For more information about Rogers State University, visit www.rsu.edu.