University of Michigan. Bureau of School Services

In 1871 the University of Michigan became the first university in the United States to drop the admissions requirement of entrance examinations and offer instead a program of voluntary accreditation to public, private, and parochial secondary schools. Michigan high schools that wanted to enter into this arrangement were visited by a university faculty committee that appraised the schools for their work in science, philosophy, and the arts. A school that passed the minimum criteria in all three areas would be accredited. By 1876 accreditation specifications had changed to accommodate schools that were strong in only one or two of the subject areas. Students from these schools would be granted entrance to select university programs depending on the accreditation status of the secondary school from which they graduated. During the early years of the program, requests for accreditation came from outside of the state, including schools in California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. In 1884 admission to the University of Michigan by diploma was extended to high schools outside of Michigan. By May of 1900, a single system of entrance requirements went into effect.

Five Michigan high schools were accredited the first year, these being Adrian High School, Ann Arbor High School, Central High School of Detroit, Central High School of Flint, and Jackson High School. In 1900 there were 127 accredited schools. By 1951 this number had reached 635.

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