More than 70 years ago several insightful junior college leaders met to form an organization of two-year colleges in the North Central Region. The group was organized out of the need to convince the North Central Association accrediting agency that two-year colleges were real colleges and were here to stay.
Today the Council of North Central Two Year Colleges (CNCTYC) is a 19-state organization with over 349 institutional members. It is the second largest organization of two-year colleges in the United states. The largest is the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).
The Council of North Central Two Year Colleges (CNCTYC) developed from the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. It was the direct outgrowth of association meetings. In the early 1930's, there was a growing feeling among junior college representatives who were members of the North Central Association that the needs of junior colleges were not being considered. In addition, there was a lack of representation of junior college personnel on important committees of the North Central Association.
In 1937 the Council of North Central Two Year Colleges (CNCTYC) was born. A group of junior college administrators, under the leadership of Ross Holt, Dean of Lyon Township Junior College in LaGrange, Illinois, discussed possibilities of forming an organization that would convene meetings for the purpose of considering problems and issues concerning junior colleges.
In 1938, while the North Central Association was meeting in Chicago at the Palmer House, a group of junior college leaders met at the Stevens Hotel. Ross Holt, Fred Marsten, William Conley, W.B. Spellman, A.G. Dodd, P.M. Larson, J.R. Sala, N.A. Ford and W.C. Eells were present. The group organized, with J.R. Sala as president and A.G. Dodd as secretary. For several years the group held dinner meetings at the annual North Central Association convention. It was not until 1945 that they formalized the session and adopted a name: The Council of North Central Junior Colleges.
Originally the group met once a year at the spring North Central meetings in Chicago. In 1945 CNCTYC began the tradition of sponsoring an annual Fall Conference.
In 1961 at the Fall Conference in Joplin, Missouri, the president of the council directed that a committee develop a bulletin of information which would incorporate a history of the council and a summary of conference activities. The committee was composed of Fred Cinotto, chairman, Horace Wubben, Jacob Johnson, and Homer Ledbetter.
At a meeting of the Council Executive Committee during the 1968 Fall Conference in St. Louis, President Bruce Carter appointed a committee to bring the bulletin up-to-date so that new colleges seeking membership in the council might have a complete resume of the council s history and activities. The committee, composed of James McKinstry, chairman, Charles Chapman, and Reuben Meland, collected and assembled summaries of the activities of the previous eight years. The 1973 edition derived from this committee.
The council meets twice each year. In the fall, the council meets by invitation in one of the 19 states of the North Central region. The spring meeting of the council has, historically, been held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the North Central Association/Commission on Institutions of Higher Education.
Since 1987 a summer academy has been held on a topic of pertinent interest to two year institutions. During the 1980's and early 1990's separate summer Academies were held for Deans of Instruction and Deans of Student Services on improving the roles of the deans at their various institutions. During the last five years an annual summer academy has been held on improving assessment programs at two year institutions.
Following the name change from North Central Association to the Higher Learning Commission, the Council of North Central Two Year Colleges (CNCTYC) changed its name in 2017 to the Council on Accreditation for Two-Year Colleges. (CATYC)
