Worcester Junior College
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Worcester Junior College was a public 2-year community college located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Prior to its closure in 1989, the College offered Associate's degrees in Arts and in Engineering.
WJC began in 1905 as the Wocester Youth Men's Christian Association Institute. At the time, the College's only academic offering was a course in automobile mechanics. The curriculum steadily expanded until 1956, when WJC offered courses in Engineering, Business, and the Liberal Arts.
By 1919, the College was involved in a partnership with Northeastern University, Boston, becoming the Worcester Division of Northeastern. Courses were taught at a high school / technical school level. In 1926, the WYMCA Instistute decided to split into a preparatory school and an engineering school. In 1938, the Institute received a charter to grant Associate's degrees and, in the same year, officially changed its name to Worcester Junior College (some initial plans used the name 'Alden Junior College,' but 'Worcester Junior College' was used in the official charter). College officials complemented the night courses with a day school in 1940, and in 1942, dropped ties between the College and Northeastern.
By 1977, the WJC was operating as part of the Central New England Colleges institution. The Junior College closed along with the Central New England College of Technology on April 21, 1989, due to financial mismanagement by the administration of the umbrella institution.