Forty years ago, the country's social and economic conditions created an atmosphere ripe for change and experimentation. Concern over equal rights and debate over the Vietnam War marked the early 1970s, but the decade was also characterized as a time for new endeavors, including plans for educational innovation. The Age of Aquarius wasn't just a song from the musical Hair, noting Jupiter had aligned with Mars; it was a time for social and economic forces to come together to create new educational opportunities.


Genesis of Educational Change


In that genesis of change, the foundation was laid for the institution that would one day become Excelsior College. In 1970, in his inaugural address as commissioner of the New York State Education Department, Ewald B. Nyquist outlined a plan to create an external degree program, one that would provide an additional avenue to a college diploma. From its humble beginnings in 1971, when the Regents External Degree Program (REX) was established by the New York State Board of Regents of The University of the State of New York, Excelsior College has undergone a dramatic metamorphosis-- from a state initiative, to an independent college recognizing college credit earned elsewhere, to the broad-based institution it is today, offering its own online instruction.


================================
"There are thousands of people in
the world today who have college
degrees who wouldn't have them if
it weren't for Excelsior College."
-- Robert Stone
================================


Nyquist's bold proposal was based in part on the recommendations of a special committee, appointed 10 years earlier by New York State Governor Nelson E. Rockefeller, that was tasked with examining the future of higher education in the state. The group documented their findings in the Heald Report, and among its recommendations were that the Regents establish a credit-by-examination program, allowing students to acquire regular college credit for their achieve ments without attending traditional college classes.


Serving as the first director of this Regents External Degree Program was Dr. Donald J. Nolan. He recalls, "I think it [the external degree program] broke ground that would not have been broken otherwise. Other states tried to imitate. [But] nobody [else] had the wherewithal to pull it together." Today, the College's contribution to postsecondary education holds a special place in history. Nolan explains, "It made acceptable in all circles the fact that an institution that didn't have a campus, didn't have resident faculty, didn't have a resident student body, could actually confer degrees. And that changed the landscape of higher education in 1971, and I don't think it's been matched since then."


As the decades have rolled by, and the education endeavor begun 40 years ago evolved into Excelsior College, oh, how the times have changed! In 1971, a gallon of regular gasolinewas 36 cents versus $3.00 by today's standards; an average home cost $28,300 versus today's $171,700, and the median household income was $9,028 compared to the current $52,029. But throughout all the changes, one thing hasstayed steadfast and true -- the College's founding philosophy: What you know is more important than where or how you learned it.


The College's mission, above all, has been at the center of its growth as it seeks to provide opportunity to adult learners with an emphasis on those historically underrepresented in higher education. In the 70s, there were few options for those who neither followed a traditional path due to work or family commitments nor had the means to pursue concentrated college study due to lack of financial resources. Robert D. Stone, the College's first general counsel, notes, "Excelsior College today, and presumably forever, is and will be recognized as an institution that has given opportunities to an array of students who wouldn't have been able to find that opportunity anywhere else. There are thousands of people in the world today with college degrees who wouldn't have them if it weren't for Excelsior College."


4 | Live & Learn 40th Anniversary Edition

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