The first year, some 60 students were enrolled, and the curriculum consisted of classes in mathematics, English, science, chemistry, and physics.
On the preparatory side, students were given training in liberal arts and pre-professional subjects, leading to law, medicine, engineering, and the like.
When that building was destroyed by fire in 1938, college students moved to the former James Bradley residence, located at the corner of 10th and Franklin, in Centerville.
In the early 1960s the college moved to the 3rd floor of the Iowa Southern Utilities Building on the northeast corner of the Centerville Courthouse Square Historic District.
In the fall of 1963, the former Bradley mansion on Drake Avenue, in Centerville, became the home for the college along with other buildings in other parts of town, as courses offered began to increase.
As men began to return after their army service, enrollment under the GI Bill totaled 60 students, and the college was re-opened.