Harrison College

About Harrison College

Harrison College is a nationally accredited college with more than 75,000 graduates. They offer a unique learning environment for students who want to pursue a career-focused, quality education and complete their degree in a student-centered atmosphere. In order to achieve your goals, they believe it's important for them to take the time to get to know you.

Harrison College Benefits

Personal Support.

Harrison College works with you one on one to help you reach your goals, from choosing a field of study to finding a job.

Financial Aid.

They’ll help you devise the best plan to finance your education – 93% of Harrison students receive some form of financial aid.

Five Schools of Study.

They offer more than 30 programs in a wide variety of career fields including health care, IT, veterinary, criminal justice and business.

Smart Choices.

Harrison College develops their programs based on ongoing input from business leaders and research of industry growth trends to ensure that they offer strong career potential.

Career-Focused Degrees.

Your classes will center on your selected area of study, period.

Day and Evening Classes.

Enjoy flexible class schedules and the option of either part-time or full-time study.

Online Studies.

If learning from a computer works better for your life, many programs are available completely online.

12 Campuses.

They’ve strategically located their campuses to make it a reasonable commute for most anyone in the state.

A Long History.

In a world where many claim to be an expert, it’s comforting to know you’re with a school that’s truly been a leader for more than 100 years.

Lifetime Employment Assistance.

They’re with you every step of the way, providing guidance on identifying your skills and interests, writing cover letters, building resumes, interviewing, and starting great careers.

Harrison College History

While many career colleges are run by large anonymous corporations, Harrison College remains today – as it was when it opened in Marion in 1902 – a family-owned educational institution. 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, helping them be marketable in the world of business. By 1913, the college extended from Elkhart in the north to Columbus in the south. This school was the model for the multiple campuses which became known as Indiana Business College, and more recently, Harrison College.

From the beginning, 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 leader in educating women. While much of the office work from 1900 to 1920 was performed by men, women were making strong inroads…and Harrison was there to teach them. Female enrollment was fast approaching 50% by 1915 and grew even higher as young men reported for military duty.

Because of its high standards of teaching, 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 and excel.

Ken Konesco took the helm in 1986 as Harrison's new 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 offered today. One example is the start of medical programs in 1994.

Today, Harrison teaches on 12 campuses plus a culinary school, and also offers Online Studies to anyone in the world! The same principles of keeping the management local and the education meaningful that started the school remain today.

Accreditation

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.

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools750 First Street NE, Suite 980Washington, D.C. 20002-4241202-336-6780

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs

The Harrison College Medical Assisting programs at the Anderson, Columbus, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis-Downtown, Indianapolis-East, Indianapolis-Northwest, Lafayette, Marion, 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).

Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs1361 Park StreetClearwater, FL 33756 727-210-2350