Fenn College was founded in 1923 as part of the Cleveland YMCA's education program, which for 50 years had helped students finish their high school educations and learn additional business and technical skills. Throughout its history, the fortunes of Fenn College were linked to those of Cleveland. Fenn opened at a time when the future appeared bright and promising. Cleveland was the country's sixth largest city and at its peak in prominence and prosperity as an industrial and commercial center. The opportunities were there and the college sought ways, like adopting a cooperative education program, to help students to prepare for them. For 42 years, Fenn provided a quality low-cost education to thousands of students in Cleveland and northeast Ohio--students for whom such an education would have been otherwise unattainable.