Over time the other three institutions were founded as normal schools and in 1959 they were converted into state colleges to reflect their expanded mission.

The universities are governed by the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, established in 2011 to license and accredit the institutions and their programs, approve budgets, support planning, and coordinate technology operations.

[5] The four universities – Central, Eastern, Southern and Western – offer graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 160 subject areas.

Twenty-four years later, in 1983, the colleges became universities in recognition of their greater mission and strategies.

On July 30, 1965, the state General Assembly created the Board of Trustees to oversee the colleges and to guide them to more effectively to serve the public.