Office of the Registrar Admission Card File, 1899-1949

Washington State University was founded as the Washington Agricultural College and School of Science in 1890, and became the State College of Washington (colloquially Washington State College) in 1905. It enrolled its first students and began instruction in January of 1892. During its early years the school offered both college courses and non-college courses, the most common non-college program was the Preparatory School, later the Elementary School or Elementary Science program, which was the equivalent of today's high school education.

The Office of the Registrar is responsible for handling student records; the role of the registrar dates to the earliest days of the campus, though the first registrar also served a secretarial role. Today it's responsible for virtually all non-medical student data.