The school's initial aim was to help foreign students improve their English language skills to enable them to meet the requirements for attending U.S. institutions.
In 1954, the institution was renamed Windham College and began offering courses in the liberal arts and sciences, earning accreditation in December, 1967.
The academic campus consisted of five buildings: Humanities, Library, Sciences on one side, Fine Arts and the Student Union across the green, all connected by a colonnade.
Stranded international students were forced to leave the school premises by order of the local sheriff, and all of the dormitories were vacated and padlocked.
Most international students lost their tuition money (and their boarding costs) that had been paid in advance four weeks prior, and were forced to disperse to other parts of the USA or to return to their countries.