Harrison College (Indiana)

Not to be confused with Harrison College (Barbados).

Harrison College
File:Harrison College Logo
Established	1902
Type	Privately held, for-profit
Students	6,000 +
Location	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Campus	Multiple: Indiana and Ohio
Website	www.harrison.edu [1]

Harrison College, formerly known as Indiana Business College, is a privately held, for-profit college based in Indianapolis, Indiana, with locations across Indiana, online and in Ohio. The college was founded as Marion Business College in 1902 in Marion, Indiana.

Mission statement

"Building on a legacy of service since 1902, we are advocates of education dedicated to excellence in higher learning. We collaborate with students, staff, faculty, and our community to deliver student-centered education and prepare students for careers that positively impact society, both locally and globally."

History

Harrison College has been a family-owned educational institution since it opened in Marion, Indiana in 1902. A former educator, Charles Cring, started Marion Business College because he saw that a diversifying Indiana economy needed trained workers. The needed skills in 1902 were shorthand, typing, penmanship, English, bookkeeping and accounting. He built his school based on educating his students in those areas. By 1913, the college extended from Elkhart, Indiana in the north to Columbus, Indiana in the south. This school was the model for the multiple campuses which became known as Indiana Business College, and more recently, Harrison College.

Cring built Harrison College by adhering to some fundamental rules, which Harrison still maintains today

• Offer students real value for their investment
• Prepare students to compete for good-paying jobs
• Hire talented teachers and managers
• Offer free lifetime employment assistance to alumni
• Reward employees to ensure a quality business education

Just as Harrison uses the power of the Internet and other high-tech methods today, it was also on the “cutting edge” in the early days of the school. At the time, the most advanced technology was central Indiana’s electric street railway system, the interurban. Ora E. Butz, the general manager from 1916 to 1926, worked out of Marion but traveled to all 10 campuses on the interurban. People from all the campuses could also converge for meetings without overnight stays.

Harrison was also a pioneer in educating women. While much of the office work from 1900 to 1920 was performed by men, women were making strong inroads and female enrollment was fast approaching 50% by 1915 and grew even higher as young men reported for military duty in World War I.

Harrison even thrived during the Great Depression and during World War II because employers knew they could look to Harrison graduates for well-trained people to hire. When the Baby Boomers became college age in the 1960s and the percentage of students continuing their education past high school increased, Harrison continued to grow.

Ken Konesco took the helm in 1986 as Harrison's president. In the 1990s Harrison College dramatically expanded its program offerings because there was such a need for skilled, trained workers. Thanks to his insight, Harrison moved beyond offering just the basic office skills so that the curriculum could expand into the many areas of study. One example is the start of medical programs in 1994.

Today, Harrison teaches on 13 campuses plus a culinary school, and also offers online studies.

Quick Facts

• Year Established: 1902
• Locations: 12 campuses across Indiana and Ohio, plus Online Studies and The Chef’s Academy - the culinary division of Harrison College
• Academic Degrees: Bachelor, Associate, Diploma, Certificate
• Schools of Study: Harrison’s programs fall within Schools of Health Science, Veterinary Technology, Information Technology, Criminal Justice and Business
• Programs and Courses: More than 30
• Class Schedules: Day, evening and online flexibility
• Average Class Size: 16 students per instructor
• Enrollment:Approximately 6,000 + students
• Financial Aid: 93% of students receive some form of financial aid
• Graduates: More than 75,000 students have graduated from Harrison College
• Graduate Employment Rates: Based on 2010 data, nearly 89% of graduates looking for employment, obtain employment within a year of completing their Harrison education.
• Accreditation / Regulation: Accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) and regulated by The Indiana Commission on Proprietary Education (COPE)

Accreditation and Regulation

Accreditation

Harrison College is a candidate with the The Higher Learning Commission and an affiliate of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools

Harrison College is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools to award Certificates, Diplomas, Associate and Bachelor Degrees. The Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools is listed as a nationally recognized accrediting agency by the United States Department of Education. Its accreditation of degree-granting institutions is also recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs

The Harrison College Medical Assisting programs at the Anderson, Columbus, Elkhart, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis-Downtown, Indianapolis-East, Indianapolis-Northwest, Lafayette, Muncie and Terre Haute campuses are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) on the recommendation of the Medical Assisting Education Review Board (MAERD).

The Harrison College Surgical Technology programs at the Fort Wayne, Indianapolis-Northwest and Indianapolis-East campuses are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs on the recommendation of the Accreditation Review Committee in Surgical Technology (ARC-ST).

American Veterinary Medical Association Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities

The Harrison College Veterinary Technology program at the Indianapolis-Northwest campus is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Committee on Veterinary Technician Education and Activities

National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences

The Harrison College Medical Laboratory Technology program at the Indianapolis-East campus is accredited by the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) on the recommendation of the Clinical Laboratory Sciences Programs Review Committee (CLSPRC).

Regulation

Indiana Commission on Proprietary Education

Harrison College's Indiana campuses are regulated by The Indiana Commission on Proprietary Education.

Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools

Harrison College's Ohio campus is regulated by the Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools.

Approvals and Memberships

Approvals

Harrison is approved by the following:

• Indiana Approval Agency for G.I. Training, War Orphans and Disabled Veterans
• Indiana Department of Workforce Development
• Indiana Department of Public Instruction, Vocational and Rehabilitation Division
• U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare for Social Security Benefits
• U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization for Teaching Services for Foreign Students
• U.S. Department of Labor, Comprehensive Employment Training for Employed or Under-Employed Persons

Memberships

Harrison is a member of the following:

• Adult Education Council
• Career College Association
• Council on Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)
• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
• Indiana Association of Private Career Schools
• Indiana Chamber of Commerce
• National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
• National Business Education Association

External links

• Official site - Harrison College
• Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
• Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs

References

• http://www.harrison.edu