Coeducational College: Definition, History, and Evolution

Coeducation, the practice of educating male and female students together in the same institution, represents a significant shift in the landscape of education. While now a common feature in many parts of the world, its journey to acceptance was marked by resistance, evolving social norms, and a persistent struggle for gender equality.

Defining Coeducation

Coeducation, also known as mixed-sex education or mixed-gender education, is an educational system where students of both sexes learn together in the same environment. This approach contrasts with single-sex education, which was historically more prevalent.

Early Seeds of Coeducation

The concept of coeducation can be traced back to the Reformation in Western Europe, where certain Protestant groups advocated for girls and boys to be taught to read the Bible. This practice gained traction in Scotland, Northern England, and colonial New England, with young children attending dame schools together.

In the British colonies, the Society of Friends (Quakers) were pioneers in coeducation and universal education, with boys and girls attending school together in Quaker settlements. After the American Revolution, the new free public elementary schools, which replaced church institutions, were almost always coeducational. By 1900, the majority of public high schools in the United States had adopted coeducation.

The Rise of Coeducational Institutions and Women's Colleges

The 19th century witnessed a gradual shift in attitudes towards women's access to higher education. Women had two primary pathways to pursue a degree: enrolling in coed institutions or attending women's colleges.

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In 1837, Oberlin College became the first college in the United States to admit women, just two years after opening its doors to African-American male students. In 1862, Oberlin awarded a degree to Mary Jane Patterson, the first Black woman to earn a bachelor's degree.

Women's colleges also emerged as an alternative route. Wesleyan College, chartered in 1836, was the first college in the world to grant degrees to women. Over the following decades, other women's colleges were established, including Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Wellesley College, and Spelman College, the first historically Black college for women.

However, even women's colleges treated higher education for women as “dangerous experiments,” according to historian Helen Horowitz. Colleges for men modeled their campuses on the “academical villages” plan, in which men slept in dorms and crossed the quad to attend classes in various buildings. In contrast, women’s colleges restricted their students’ freedom by modeling their campuses not on villages but on seminaries. Female students lived and studied in one building, an architectural choice intended to protect them from losing their virtue.

Trailblazers Defend Women's Right to Education

As colleges began granting degrees to women, the first female doctors, lawyers, and professors emerged. However, women continued to face barriers during and after their education. In the 1870s, the University of Edinburgh refused to grant medical degrees to seven women who had studied at the medical school for years. The “Edinburgh Seven” faced professors who refused to teach them and male students who rioted when they sat for an anatomy exam. Eventually, several of the women moved abroad to become physicians. In 2019, the institution awarded the women honorary degrees on the 150th anniversary of their matriculation.

Sister Schools Offer a Compromise

In response to increasing pressure, some institutions, like Harvard, created sister schools as a compromise. Radcliffe College, established in the late 19th century, allowed women to study under Harvard professors but remained separate from the main university.

Harvard President Drew Faust described Radcliffe as a “compromise between what women wanted and what Harvard would give them, as an alternative to the two prevailing models of coeducation and separate women’s institutions.” Radcliffe students were separate but not quite equal to Harvard undergraduates. “Radcliffe College would educate women by contracting with individual Harvard faculty to provide instruction, would offer its own diplomas, to be countersigned by Harvard’s president, and would be subjected in academic matters to the supervision of ‘visitors’ from Harvard,” Faust explained.

Resistance and Reluctance: The Ivy League's Stance

Despite the growing acceptance of coeducation, some institutions, particularly those in the Ivy League, resisted the trend well into the second half of the 20th century.

Dartmouth College alumni expressed their opposition with banners proclaiming "Better Dead Than Coed." Outright misogyny marked much of the resistance to coeducation. One Princeton University alum complained, “What is all this nonsense about admitting women to Princeton? A good old-fashioned whore-house would be considerably more efficient, and much, much cheaper.”

Yale University alumni worried about the “distracting” effect of women. “Gentlemen - let’s face it - charming as women are - they get to be a drag if you are forced to associate with them each and every day,” an alum wrote.

However, by the late 1960s and early 1970s, even the Ivy League began to yield. Princeton and Yale admitted women in 1969, followed by Brown in 1971 and Dartmouth in 1972. Columbia University, the last Ivy holdout, did not admit women until 1983.

According to historian Nancy Weiss Malkiel, the Ivy League's shift towards coeducation was driven by a desire to remain competitive, as male students increasingly chose coed institutions over single-sex ones.

The Transition at Williams College

Williams College provides a detailed example of the coeducation movement. As early as the mid-19th century, the college debated the issue of educating women. The Adelphic Union, Williams’ literary/debating society, argued ‘Whether Females Ought to be Educated Equally with Males,’ settling the dispute in the negative.

Despite some instances of women attending classes or completing coursework, it wasn't until 1971 that Williams College officially admitted women as regular undergraduate students. This decision was driven by the recommendations of various committees and the recognition that admitting women would grow the undergraduate population and expand the range of studies offered.

Vassar College's Journey to Coeducation

Vassar College, a historically women's college, also underwent a significant transformation. By the late 1950s, the college's single-sex environment became less appealing to prospective students. Factors such as the media's emphasis on early marriage and the increasing number of students from coeducational schools contributed to this shift.

In 1966, Vassar formed the Committee on New Dimensions to explore ways to incorporate men into the college. The committee considered various options, including a coeducational graduate facility and the admission of men as undergraduates. A questionnaire revealed that the majority of students believed the absence of men in Vassar classes resulted in a loss of perspective.

In 1968, the faculty overwhelmingly endorsed the admission of men to Vassar. An exchange program was formed with twelve other institutions, and seventy-seven male students entered Vassar in the spring semester of 1969. The introduction of men led to changes on campus, including new housing, a new dining center, and the revocation of parietal regulations.

While the college initially aimed for parity between the sexes, it later revised its goal. In 1973, Elizabeth Purcell, chair of the Vassar Board, emphasized that Vassar was developing an equal coeducation in which women would not be marginalized or discriminated against.

Wesleyan University's Experience with Coeducation

Wesleyan University's journey with coeducation began in 1872, 41 years after its founding, when the first four female students were admitted. While the Board of Trustees agreed that there was nothing in the charter or by-laws that prohibited the admission of women, marked separations between the two genders persisted at the University.

By 1898, 23 percent of the student body was female, but women were still announced separately from men during commencement and separated in libraries, labs, and living spaces. A Committee on Coeducation was formalized in 1899, but in 1900, female graduates sent a letter of protest to the Committee and the Board of Trustees, writing about the University’s possible losses if women were to be excluded from the University’s student body in the future and estimated a cost of half a million to one million dollars to create a separate women’s college.

Around the turn of the century, coeducation took a negative turn in higher education, with more and more institutions shying away from integrating women into the community. The first phase of coeducation at Wesleyan then ended in 1912. A task force created on coeducation concluded that the integration of women was necessary were Wesleyan to retain its academic reputation.

University President Colin Goetze Campbell said in 1981, “The immense benefit of coeducation to Wesleyan has been the breaking down of numerous stereotypes and clichés,”

Coeducation as the Norm

By the 20th century, coed schools had become the norm rather than the exception. In 1880, 46% of four-year colleges and universities enrolled men and women, a number that jumped to 58% by 1900 and 64% just three and a half decades later. In 1934, 7 in 10 undergraduates attended a coed institution.

The Impact of Coeducation

The rise of coeducation has had a profound impact on society. It has broadened access to education for women, challenged traditional gender roles, and fostered a more diverse and inclusive learning environment.

Research suggests that coeducational environments promote collaboration, communication, and empathy among students. They also provide opportunities for students to develop critical life skills and prepare for the realities of a coeducational workforce.

Lingering Challenges and the Future of Women in Higher Education

Despite the progress made, challenges remain. Women continue to face gender stereotypes and biases in certain fields, and the gender pay gap persists. Efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion are crucial to ensuring that women have equal opportunities in higher education and beyond.

Even though women make up a majority of college graduates in the 21st century, the fight isn’t over. In 2022, women with at least a bachelor’s degree only earned 79% as much as men who were college graduates. In part, men are more likely to choose higher-paying majors. Around half of the wage gap comes from occupational choices - careers dominated by men typically pay more than those that employ more women.

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