From delivering correspondence courses by motorcycle to giving people who otherwise couldn’t afford it the chance to enroll in professional development opportunities, UW Continuum College has grown and evolved for more than 100 years, passing many milestones along the way. Explore Continuum’s decades of history and learn how we’ve become a bridge to education for our community.
1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s | Next
In 1951, the price for Extension classes increased to $5 per credit hour. Reflecting the climate of its home city, Extension began offering a course on rain in 1955. Enrollment in evening classes grew from 3,748 in 1947 to 20,120 by 1959.
The decade also brought changes in education and popular culture as an increasing number of homes and schools acquired a relatively new technology that would change how we live: television. The new medium allowed the Extension Services to air telecourses on KCTS-TV and supply study guides to people who wished to take TV classes for credit. These courses were in addition to programs offered on KUOW radio, licensed to the UW in 1951.