san antonio college

Historical Sketch

San Antonio College was established as University Junior College in September 1925, under the auspices of the University of Texas. The following year control of the college was transferred to the San Antonio Independent School District and the name was changed to San Antonio Junior College. Following passage of state legislation authorizing junior college districts, the San Antonio Union Junior College District was formed in 1945 and in 1946 assumed control of San Antonio College and its sister college, St. Philip’s Junior College. In 1948, San Antonio Junior College’s name was changed to San Antonio College, and in 1951, the college was moved to its present location on San Pedro Avenue. Five hundred students were enrolled at that time. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted accreditation to the college in 1955.

In the late 1960s San Antonio College became a comprehensive community college by expanding offerings in occupational and technical courses and by assuming the San Antonio Independent School District’s continuing education program. The name of the college district was changed to San Antonio Community College District in 1978 and in 1982 the district was renamed the Alamo Community College District.

In support of the mission of the Alamo Community College District, San Antonio College responds to Bexar County’s diverse community by providing high quality general education, liberal arts and sciences, career education, continuing education and developmental education. The college has an average semester enrollment of 21,000 credit students and an average annual enrollment of 16,000 other-than-credit students. San Antonio College is the largest single-campus community college in Texas and one of the largest in the United States.

With passage of state legislation authorizing the creation of junior college districts, administrators embarked on an active campaign to create the San Antonio Union Junior College District. Approved in 1945, the District assumed control of the San Antonio Junior College and St. Philip's Junior College, originally a private Episcopal Institution, the following year. Two years later, "Junior" was dropped from the names of the colleges, and attention focused on finding a permanent facility. In January of 1951, San Antonio College moved to its present site on San Pedro Avenue across from San Pedro Park. Enrollment was under 500 students. In the mid-1960's the College expanded its mission to include vocational, technical and adult education.

In 1978, the District's name was changed to the San Antonio Community College District, and in 1982 it was renamed the Alamo Community College District. Today, San Antonio College is one of the largest single-campus community colleges in the country and the largest single-campus college in the State of Texas, enrolling over 22,000 students.