Capitol College - History

History

Capitol College was originally founded in 1927 as the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute, a correspondence school, by Eugene H. Rietzke, a U.S. Navy veteran and radio operator. Five years later, in 1932, a residence division was opened, allowing students to reside at the school and study in laboratories. This facility remained at the corner of 16th Street NW and Park Road in Washington, D.C. for 30 years. In 1946, following World War II, the Institute was accredited by the Engineers' Council for Professional Development (ECPD).

In 1964, the Institute changed its name to the Capitol Institute of Technology to reflect its expansion during the 1950s. Shortly thereafter, in 1966, the District of Columbia licensed the Institute to award Bachelor of Science degrees in engineering technology. Anticipating the need for more space, the Institute decided to move to a leased facility in Kensington, Maryland in 1969, which opened in January 1970. Six years later, in 1976, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) awarded full accreditation to the Institute.

After receiving regional accreditation, the Institute started to receive Federal and State grants for the purchase and construction of a new Laurel, Maryland campus, which was completed in September 1983. Over the next few years, new degree programs were introduced, the cooperative education program was expanded, new construction was well underway, and The Decade of Growth Campaign exceeds its $3.5 million goal. In 1986, Telecommunications Hall and the 340-seat Avrum Gudelsky Memorial Auditorium were completed. A year later, The Board of Trustees approved an extensive five-point plan.

This plan involved changing the school's name to the current one, developing new curricula in electrical engineering and telecommunications, creating student housing on campus, and moving from an quarter system to a semester system. In January 1989, six apartment-style residence halls were completed, named after various inventors: Bell, De Forest, Edison, Franklin, Morse, and Steinmetz. In August 1990, the Graduate School was created to offer the College's first Master's degrees in systems management.

Over the following seven years, the College expanded its graduate degree offerings, partnered with NASA to offer preparatory summer courses in engineering for minority students, developed a Distance Learning Center, and opened the renovated Puente Library, also housing the McGowan Center for Innovative Teaching. In 1997, the College offered its first courses over the Internet. Since then, new undergraduate and graduate programs were introduced, the Space Operations Institute was established and expanded, the McGowan Academic Center was constructed, and online enrollment has increased.

On January 12, 2012, U.S. News & World Report released its rankings of top online degree programs and Capitol College was ranked No. 43 for its graduate engineering program in the category “Student Services and Technology.” The college is also ranked No. 15 of top online engineering degree programs for student engagement and accreditation.