As the only fully-accredited public institution of higher education in the nation's capital, the University of the District of Columbia has been around since 1851 in various incarnations. In 1974 it achieved its current charter: a flagship university with approximately 3,500 students at six locations, and a community college which will soon have twelve locations. Enrollment is growing at approximately thirty percent each year, and the next 15 years, the population of the university system is forecasted to expand to about 45,000 students.