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The National Radio Institute-McGraw Hill Continuing Education Center was a private, postsecondary, for-profit
correspondence school Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...
based in
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
from 1914 to 2002. The school originally trained students to become radio operators and technicians. (In 1922, the term "radiotrician" was coined for NRI graduates and registered with the U.S. patent office in 1928). NRI conducted training courses via mailed lessons, a form of
asynchronous learning Asynchronous learning is a general term used to describe forms of education, instruction, and learning that do not occur in the same place or at the same time. It uses resources that facilitate information sharing outside the constraints of time an ...
. NRI's initial home-study course offerings were in radio (transmitter and receiver) repair, as well as radio telegraphy & telephony. These courses were designed to be comprehensive, covering all facets of radio technology, including radio operation, broadcasting, manufacturing, sales, and service. An
F.C.C. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by Radio in the United States, radio, Television in ...
license exam preparation course was implemented and, in time, more courses were added for students to become
tradesmen A tradesman, tradeswoman, or tradesperson is a skilled worker that specializes in a particular trade (occupation or field of work). Tradesmen usually have work experience, on-the-job training, and often formal vocational education in contrast ...
in the broader field of electronic equipment servicing, including TV/VCR repair, basic electronics, automation & control systems, avionic & marine communication systems, and even a very early computer technology (logic and programming) course in 1971. (On a side note, NRI registered the term "teletrician" with the U.S. patent office in 1938). Eventually, NRI implemented courses in electric appliance repair, automotive mechanics, small engine repair, building construction, home inspection, air conditioning, refrigeration, heating & solar technology, computer repair, locksmithing, as well as bookkeeping and accounting. Nevertheless, radio-television electronics remained the company's most prominent division. NRI was America's oldest and largest home-study radio-television-electronics school, a claim that the school frequently advertised. The school was also an accredited member of the National Home Study Council, now known as the
Distance Education Accrediting Commission The Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), formerly the National Home Study Council and then as the Distance Education and Training Council, is a non-profit national educational accreditation agency in the United States specializing in t ...
.


Early history (1914–68),


National Radio School: primarily classroom instruction

The ''National Radio School'' was established in 1914 in Washington, D.C. by James Ernest Smith (1881–1973) and Emanuel R. Haas (1891–1947).1 Smith was a teacher at McKinley Manual Training School (which was moved in 1926 to its final location now known as
McKinley Technology High School McKinley Technology High School is a public citywide 9th–12th grade high school in the District of Columbia Public Schools in Northeast Washington, D.C. The school, an offshoot of Central High School (now Cardozo Senior High School), originally ...
). He held a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering (BSEE, 1906) from
Worcester Polytechnic Institute '' , mottoeng = "Theory and Practice" , established = , former_name = Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science (1865-1886) , type = Private research university , endowme ...
and began his career at
Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...
in Pittsburgh, but took an extended leave of absence to teach the remainder of an applied electricity course on behalf of an ailing colleague at McKinley. Smith later accepted a permanent position at the school. Eventually, students began consulting him for private formal instruction-- which is precisely how the National Radio School began. With enthusiastic support from Mr. Haas, who was then Assistant Publicity Director for Keith's Theater in Washington D.C., a small classroom was set up for four students inside the U.S. Savings Bank Building at 14th and U Street NW, now the site of the Frank D. Reeves Municipal Center. Haas became the school's Vice President and Business Director, and the school grew in popularity. In 1915, John Albert Dowie (1886–1958) was hired as the National Radio School's Radio Theory Instructor (later becoming Chief Instructor) and stayed with the school for 36 years. The first home study courses were developed and implemented by the National Radio School as early as 1916, enabling students to continue their training without being physically present at the school. During World War I, facilities were expanded to address the burgeoning demand for radio operators. By 1917, enrollment had swelled to 150 students.


National Radio Institute: exclusively home study courses

In 1918, the U.S. government appointed Smith director of the Radio Department at
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
, where he was responsible for Signal Corps training, while Haas was asked to conduct radio work for the Army Officer's School at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
and Camp Alfred Vail, Little Silver, New Jersey. Edward L. Degener (1898–1974) joined to oversee advertising and organization in Haas' temporary absence, but stayed on to eventually become General Manager and Treasurer, retiring in 1960. After World War I, demand for radio operators continued to grow and, in 1920, classes were moved to Pennsylvania Avenue when the school was renamed the ''National Radio Institute''. In 1923, the business was relocated to Connecticut Avenue NW in Washington D.C., and classroom instruction was discontinued entirely so the school could focus solely on its home-study model. The business quickly outgrew this location as well, and moved to 16th And U Street NW in 1927, where it occupied the entire building for the next 30 years. The building on U Street was constructed in 1915 and still stands today, currently occupied by the
Center for Community Change Community Change, formerly the Center for Community Change (CCC), is a progressive community organizing group active in the United States. It was founded in 1968 in response to civil rights concerns of the 1960s and to honor Robert F. Kennedy. T ...
.


Publications, technical advisory board, and alumni association

In addition to more than 250 textbooks, NRI began, in 1928, to publish for its students and alumni a trade magazine originally calle
National Radio News
which was renamed multiple times to

1950)

1958), and finally t

1963). An alumni association was formed on November 23, 1929, when NRI's average annual enrollment was about 18,000 students. Established that same year was NRI's technical advisory board, which eventually included among its members,
Lee de Forest Lee de Forest (August 26, 1873 – June 30, 1961) was an American inventor and a fundamentally important early pioneer in electronics. He invented the first electronic device for controlling current flow; the three-element "Audion" triode va ...
, the American inventor of the
Audion The Audion was an electronic detecting or amplifying vacuum tube invented by American electrical engineer Lee de Forest in 1906.De Forest patented a number of variations of his detector tubes starting in 1906. The patent that most clearly covers ...
triode A triode is an electronic amplifying vacuum tube (or ''valve'' in British English) consisting of three electrodes inside an evacuated glass envelope: a heated filament or cathode, a grid, and a plate (anode). Developed from Lee De Forest's 19 ...
vacuum tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric voltage, potential difference has been applied. The type kn ...
, and prominent radio enginee
Cyril M. Jansky Jr.
and Maj. Gen.
George Owen Squier Major General George Owen Squier (March 21, 1865 – March 24, 1934) was born in Dryden, Michigan, United States. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in the Class of 1887 and received a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1893 ...
. American electrical engineer Alfred Norton Goldsmith joined the board in 1934, followed in 1935 by inventor and television pioneer
Philo Farnsworth Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor and television pioneer. He made many crucial contributions to the early development of all-electronic television. He is best known for his 1927 invention of t ...
(a 1924 alumnus of NRI), as well as
Harry Diamond (engineer) Harry Diamond (12 February 1900 – 21 June 1948) was an American radio pioneer and inventor, and namesake for Diamond Ordnance Fuze Laboratories, which later became part of the Army Research Laboratory. Early life Diamond, the son of a Jewish ...
in 1938. By 1932
Joseph Kaufman
an electrical engineering instructor and MIT graduate, was hired as Supervisor of Education (later, Director of Education). In 1942, NRI contracted him for one dollar per year to the
National Bureau of Standards The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...
, where he worked with Harry Diamond to develop the radio
proximity fuse A proximity fuze (or fuse) is a Fuze (munitions), fuze that detonates an Explosive material, explosive device automatically when the distance to the target becomes smaller than a predetermined value. Proximity fuzes are designed for targets such ...
.


Retirement of the founder and final move

In 1947, Haas died unexpectedly and his responsibilities were passed on to James E. Smith's son, James Morrison Smith (1916–2010)2, another graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (BSIE, 1937) and former engineer at U. S. Steel and
DuPont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...
. J.M. Smith had been an executive at the school since 1945. In December 1956, James E. Smith turned 75 years of age and stepped down from the presidency, handing the role over to his son, while remaining active in the school as founder and chairman of the board. The following year, planning commenced for a 59,000 square foot building designed specifically for NRI at 3939 Wisconsin Avenue NW in Washington D.C. The school moved into the building in May of 1957 and remained there until closing more than four decades later. In 1960, Edward L. Degener retired from NRI after 41 years of service. He was succeeded by Harold E. Luber (1906–1998), who was appointed Vice President. Luber had been with the company since 1929 and ran NRI’s Student Services department. An attorney, he also served as in-house counsel.


Advertisement

The National Radio School and Institute ran advertisements for its courses for decades in magazines such as
Boys' Life ''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is pu ...
,
Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...
,
Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...
,
Radio-Electronics ''Radio-Electronics'' was an American electronics magazine that was published under various titles from 1929 to 2003. Hugo Gernsback, sometimes called the father of science fiction, started it as ''Radio-Craft'' in July 1929. The title was changed ...
, and
Electronics Illustrated The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
. These ads often contained appealing testimonials from NRI graduates, but sometimes by popular and/or successful spokespersons who were not NRI alumni. For example,
Tom McCahill Thomas Jay McCahill III (1907–1975) was an automotive journalist, born the grandson of a wealthy attorney in Larchmont, New York. McCahill graduated from Yale University with a degree in fine arts. (McCahill's father had been a football all-A ...
endorsed NRI 's appliance repair course in a 1975 ad in Popular Mechanics. According to one source, direct marketing ads largely stopped by the mid-1970s.3


Conar Instruments (1962)

NRI's home study courses included kits from which students would assemble circuits or entire radio/stereo receivers, television receivers, as well as test instruments of various kinds (analog
multimeter A multimeter is a measuring instrument that can measure multiple electrical properties. A typical multimeter can measure voltage, resistance, and current, in which case it is also known as a volt-ohm-milliammeter (VOM), as the unit is equipped w ...
s,
tube tester A tube tester is an electronic instrument designed to test certain characteristics of vacuum tubes (thermionic valves). Tube testers evolved along with the vacuum tube to satisfy the demands of the time, and their evolution ended with the tube era ...
s,
oscilloscope An oscilloscope (informally a scope) is a type of electronic test instrument that graphically displays varying electrical voltages as a two-dimensional plot of one or more signals as a function of time. The main purposes are to display repetiti ...
s,
signal generator A signal generator is one of a class of electronic devices that generates electrical signals with set properties of amplitude, frequency, and wave shape. These generated signals are used as a stimulus for electronic measurements, typically used i ...
s, etc.). The objective was to provide practical hands-on experience to supplement the theoretical knowledge obtained from the course reading materials, and to provide affordable service tools for students to practice their new trade. In 1962, NRI began to sell the kits, which were similar to products marketed by
Heathkit Heathkit is the brand name of kits and other electronic products produced and marketed by the Heath Company. The products over the decades have included electronic test equipment, high fidelity home audio equipment, television receivers, amateu ...
directly to consumers under the brand nam
Conar Instruments
In the mid-1960s, Conar very briefly dabbled in the
Ham radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...
business by offering what today are known as th
Conar Twins
a transmitter and receiver pair. Many of these vacuum tube-powered transmitters and receivers can still be found at
Hamfest A Hamfest is a convention of amateur radio enthusiasts, often combining a trade show, flea market, and various other activities of interest to amateur radio operators (hams). In the United Kingdom the term rally is more commonly used for amateur ...
s and nostalgia events.


Acquisition and operation, as NRI Schools, by McGraw-Hill Education (1968–99)

By the second half of the 1960s, NRI recognized that its limited resources would preclude company from maintaining a dominant market position in the coming decade, spurring James Morrison Smith to seek a partner/buyer. In 1968,
McGraw-Hill Education McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referenc ...
agreed to purchase NRI after acquiring a 20 percent stake in the correspondence division of Capitol Radio Engineering Institute in 1964. By this time, over one million students had completed an NRI course. McGraw-Hill anticipated a new market for technical books, while NRI hoped the acquisition would enable them to utilize the vast technical publishing resources of its new owner. The McGraw-Hill name began appearing in the NRI Journal in 1970. In 1973, the McGraw-Hill name first appeared in catalogues of copyright entries for NRI courses in the U.S.
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, and in 1974, first appeared in magazine advertisements. After the acquisition, the school was renamed once again as ''NRI Schools'', and became an integral part of the newly established ''McGraw-Hill Continuing Education Center''. Founder James E. Smith remained NRI Schools chairman until his death in 1973 while his son, James Morrison Smith, continued to serve as president, a post he held since 1956. After James E. Smith's death in September 1973 and his son's semi-retirement2 at the end of that same year (fully retiring in 1976), John F. ("Jack") Thompson (1931–2015), who joined NRI in 1955, became president and CEO of NRI Schools and a senior vice-president of the McGraw-Hill Continuing Education Center until his retirement in 1984.4 Thompson was succeeded by Edward B. "Ted" Beach (1934–1999), who was appointed director of the education department at McGraw Hill's Continuing Education Center. Beach retired in 1989 after 28 years of service with NRI. The last director/general manager of the school was Nick Maruhnich (born 1951), who served as senior vice president of special projects at the McGraw-Hill Companies and general manager of the McGraw-Hill Continuing Education Center - NRI Schools. By the mid-1980s, NRI's average annual student enrollment had peaked to approximately 60,000 students, a substantial increase over the 38,000 a few years earlier. NRI Schools claimed to be the first organization to educate students on a digital computer with training software and to use multimedia computers and the internet to familiarize students with cutting edge technology. Under McGraw-Hill's management, the school branched out into many other training fields, including computer repair. However, by the 1990s, economic and technological forces adversely affected the business.


NRI's closing (1999–2002)

The school's closing was primarily a case of labor economics. Throughout its existence, NRI was a reputable business and vocational school. Its closing was not so much due to the rise-and-fall of for-profit schools, but more related to rapid technological developments and changes in consumer attitudes in the late twentieth century, as well as the school's insufficient course diversification efforts in its later years. Radio-television-electronics servicing (the school's primary focus) reached a point where it was no longer a lucrative career path, as consumers had come to see electronic goods as disposable items. Consequently, McGraw-Hill concluded that NRI's future business prospects and growth opportunities were too limited despite improving profits and operations (such as the implementation of updated computer repair courses). The decline of the business was quite gradual at first (e.g., the publication of NRI Journal was discontinued in 1980). By the next decade, the digital revolution,
VLSI Very large-scale integration (VLSI) is the process of creating an integrated circuit (IC) by combining millions or billions of MOS transistors onto a single chip. VLSI began in the 1970s when MOS integrated circuit (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) c ...
, and
miniaturization Miniaturization ( Br.Eng.: ''Miniaturisation'') is the trend to manufacture ever smaller mechanical, optical and electronic products and devices. Examples include miniaturization of mobile phones, computers and vehicle engine downsizing. In ele ...
were rapidly developing, which helped set the stage for the school's eventual closing.


Market Force Determining Factors


Price erosion and the end of American dominance in TV/radio manufacturing

During the last two decades of the twentieth century, increasing
offshoring Offshoring is the relocation of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Usually this refers to a company business, although state gover ...
activities of American companies with the rise of
globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
resulted in lower production costs. But the fierce global competition in the electronics industry caused a gradual price erosion of American products. Market share and revenues of American television and radio manufacturers began to fall in the wake of the cost-effective strategies of foreign competitors. By the 1980s, imported radio and television receivers (particularly those from Japan) dominated the American market, as foreign electronics tended to be of higher quality at lower prices (making the items more likely to be replaced rather than repaired after breakage or malfunction). Consequently, several American electronics manufacturers ceased domestic production or closed down entirely, namely
Quasar (brand) Quasar is an American brand of electronics, first used by Motorola in 1967 for a model line of transistorized color televisions. These TVs were marketed as containing all serviceable parts in a drawer beside the picture tube. It was then establis ...
/
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent p ...
(1974),
Magnavox Magnavox (Latin for "great voice", stylized as MAGNAVOX) is an American electronics company that since 1974 has been a subsidiary of the Dutch electronics corporation Philips. The predecessor to Magnavox was founded in 1911 by Edwin Pridham and ...
(1974), Admiral (electrical appliances) (1979),
GTE GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...
(1981), (which owned
Sylvania Electric Products Sylvania Electric Products Inc. was an American manufacturer of diverse electrical equipment, including at various times radio transceivers, vacuum tubes, semiconductors, and mainframe computers such as MOBIDIC. They were one of the companies in ...
and
Philco Philco (an acronym for Philadelphia Battery Company) is an American electronics industry, electronics manufacturer headquartered in Philadelphia. Philco was a pioneer in battery, radio, and television production. In 1961, the company was purchased ...
),
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
(1985),
RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
(1986), and Curtis Mathes Corporation (1988). The last U.S. manufacturer to produce television receivers domestically was
Zenith Electronics Zenith Electronics, LLC, is an American research and development company that develops ATSC and digital rights management technologies. It is owned by the South Korean company LG Electronics. Zenith was previously an American brand of consumer el ...
, which sold a controlling interest of its shares to the Korean company
LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...
in 1995, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of LG in 1999.


Effect of advanced technologies on the electronics service sector in general

Technological advances accounted for much of the eventual demise of TV/radio service jobs. At least three contributory factors can be singled out: 1) Weak cost justification for repairs: It was becoming hard for consumers to justify the repair of malfunctioning electronic items when the purchasing of newer models was so affordable due to advances in semiconductor and electronic materials technology. With the exception of display technologies, the newer television and radio receivers generally had fewer internal components that were smaller in size, and thus cheaper to produce. Weak cost justification for repairs often remains the case with consumer electronics. 2) Relative ease of repairs: By the early 1980s, most TV and radio manufacturers were producing solid-state sets with a modular chassis design, which meant that technicians needed less formal training to make repairs because component-level troubleshooting was not as often required-- as was the case of older tube sets, in which repairs frequently involved the simple replacement of a vacuum tube. By the end of the decade, some solid-state TV manufacturers were producing sets in which the receivers' entire
electronic circuit An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. It is a type of electrical ...
was contained on a single, replaceable
printed circuit board A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in Electrical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a L ...
. (Ironically, the opposite is true today, as flat screen television receivers are actually more difficult to repair than the old CRT TV's, and replacement parts are harder to obtain from the manufacturer, due to longer lead times). 3) Equipment obsolescence: By the end of the 1990s, the demise of discrete
analogue electronics Analogue electronics ( en-US, analog electronics) are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two levels. The term "analogue" describes the proportional relati ...
ensured the technological obsolescence of many traditional mainstays of the consumer audio/video service industry, such as
cathode ray tube A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms ( oscilloscope), pictu ...
(CRT) television sets,
videocassette recorder A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape ...
s,
LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
players, tape recorders/players, console stereos and component stereo systems. Such products were replaced by cheaper, more portable digital devices with advanced features, such as digital signal processing and computer technology. Unfortunately, the new products were difficult-to-service, not economically feasible to repair, or designed with
planned obsolescence In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is a policy of planning or designing a product with an artificially limited useful life or a purposely frail design, so that ...
. With today's accelerating rate of technological advancement, electronic equipment becomes obsolete in ever shorter periods of time. The progression of America towards a
throw-away society The throw-away society is a generalised description of human social concept strongly influenced by consumerism, whereby the society tends to use items once only, from disposable packaging, and consumer products are not designed for reuse or life ...
drastically reduced employment prospects in the electronics service sector. According to th
Professional Service Association
the number of TV repair shops fell from 20,000 in 1992 to 9,000 in 2002, to around 7,000 by 2007. From 2011 to 2016, the average annual growth rate of electronics and computer repair services industry was -1.0%. The concomitant effect for NRI Schools was a sharp decline in enrollment. However, several NRI competitors in the home-study business (see below) survived these turbulent times by offering a wider variety of subjects, including nontechnical training courses relevant to the current demand.


The school's closure and legacy

Ultimately, after radio-television-electronics servicing lost its appeal as a trade, McGraw-Hill announced that NRI would be phased out, citing "changes in the marketplace". The school stopped accepting new enrollment applications on April 1, 1999 and discontinued operations on March 31, 2002, after a respectable 88 years in the distance education business. Over its lifetime, NRI administered 1.5 million correspondence courses and adapted its coursework to major technical transformations in the radio-television-electronics industry from vacuum tubes to solid-state devices (first to discrete
transistors upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
and then to
integrated circuits An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
), from CRTs to
flat panel display A flat-panel display (FPD) is an electronic display used to display visual content such as text or images. It is present in consumer, medical, transportation, and industrial equipment. Flat-panel displays are thin, lightweight, provide better li ...
s. NRI saw the rise of
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
, the decline of
terrestrial television Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an ant ...
, and the transition from electromechanical tuners to microprocessor-controlled receivers, as well as the introduction of personal computers. NRI closed seven years prior to the
Digital television transition in the United States The digital transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of terrestrial television programming. According to David Rehr, then president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, t ...
. After the school shut down, the Wisconsin Avenue property was purchased and occupied by
Fannie Mae The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the N ...
, whose headquarters are directly across the street.


Notable alumni

*
Philo Farnsworth Philo Taylor Farnsworth (August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971) was an American inventor and television pioneer. He made many crucial contributions to the early development of all-electronic television. He is best known for his 1927 invention of t ...
, American inventor and television pioneer (completed NRI radio servicing course during his first year of college at Brigham Young University) *
Ralph H. Baer Ralph Henry Baer (born Rudolf Heinrich Baer; March 8, 1922 – December 6, 2014) was a German-American inventor, game developer, and engineer. Baer's family fled Germany just before World War II and Baer served the American war effort, gain ...
, German-American inventor and engineer, often called the "father of video games" (a 1940 alumnus of the NRI radio service course) *
John Fetzer John Earl Fetzer (March 25, 1901 – February 20, 1991) was a radio and television executive who was best known as the owner of the Detroit Tigers from 1961 through 1983. Under his ownership, the 1968 Detroit Tigers season, 1968 Tigers won the 196 ...
, a radio and television executive (served as the first president of the NRI alumni association) * Polk Perdue, son of
Hub Perdue Herbert Rodney "Hub" Perdue (June 7, 1882 – October 31, 1968), also known as The Gallatin Squash was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1911 to 1915. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Brav ...
a professional baseball player and manager * Richard Hoyt Moore (1897–1987), an Indiana State Senator * Charles H. Caldwell (1915–1989), a prominent Kentucky businessman, urban development and civic leader *
Henry W. Gould Henry Wadsworth Gould (born August 26, 1928) is a Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at West Virginia University. Early life and education Gould was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, Portsmouth, Virginia. Between 1945 and 1947, he attended National R ...
(b. 1928), Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at
West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...
* Hugh Robert Carlon, American chemical engineer, author and inventor; worked for the U. S. Army Chemical Research and Development Laboratories at the Edgewood Arsenal within the
Aberdeen Proving Ground Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) (sometimes erroneously called Aberdeen Proving ''Grounds'') is a U.S. Army facility located adjacent to Aberdeen, Harford County, Maryland, United States. More than 7,500 civilians and 5,000 military personnel work at ...
in Maryland.


Similar American schools contemporary with NRI

Throughout the 20th century, several technical American schools existed, offering correspondence courses similar to those of NRI, including: *
International Correspondence Schools ICS Learn, also known as International Correspondence Schools Ltd, is a provider of online learning courses in the UK. It was founded in 1889 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The UK branch was set up in 1904, and it now serves around 25,000 current stu ...
(ICS), now
Penn Foster Career School Penn Foster Career School is a U.S. for-profit, regionally and nationally-accredited distance education school offering career diploma programs and certificate programs. It was founded in 1890 as International Correspondence Schools, or ICS. Penn ...
(founded 1890, in Scranton, PA) (still open) * Massey Technical Institute (founded 1894 in Jacksonville, FL) (defunct in the mid-1970s) * Coyne Electrical School, now Coyne College (founded 1899) (still open) * National Technical Schools (founded 1905 in Los Angeles, CA) (now defunct) * Capitol Radio Engineering Institute (founded 1927 in Washington D.C.) (still open) * DeVry Technical Institute (founded 1931 in Chicago IL as Deforest's Training Inc.) (still open) *
Cleveland Institute of Electronics Cleveland Institute of Electronics (CIE) was a privately held, for-profit, distance learning technical college located in Cleveland, Ohio. CIE permanently closed on September 30, 2022. CIE offered Diplomas and Certificates from a variety of ele ...
(founded 1934 in Cleveland, OH, as Smith Practical Radio Institute) (still open) * Sprayberry Academy of Radio (founded 1943, in Washington D.C. but also operated out of Pueblo, CO, and Chicago, IL) (now defunct) * American Basic Science Club (founded 1957 in San Antonio, TX) (now defunct) Some of these trade schools have survived by diversifying their academic offerings. For example, including residential (face-to-face) courses as well as virtual classes in business administration, medical technology, medical billing & coding, among other programs, with some schools offering associate's, bachelor's, and graduate-level degrees.


Notes

1 Smith's birth year is erroneously reported as 1889 in some sources. However, in the article "The Story of the National Radio Institute," which appeared in a 1944 National Radio News journal, Smith's birth date and place is given as February 3, 1881 in Rochester, New Hampshire. 2
WPI benefactor publication
from September, 2010, lists both J. Morrison Smith (from the class of 1937) and his father (class of 1906) as deceased. J. Morrison Smith died in February 2010 in South Carolina at the age of 93 after having initially retired to North Carolina. 3 However, by the late 1970s through the 1980s, and as late as 1996 advertisements appeared in ''Popular Mechanics'' for NRI courses in audio/video servicing, computer repair, home inspecting, automotive servicing, master locksmithing, small engine repair, air conditioning/heating/refrigeration, and electrical installation/repair. 4 Thompson's obituary claims Thompson served as NRI Schools president and CEO from 1973 until he resigned in 1984 to start his own consulting firm. A January 1974 NRI Journal article confirms Thompson succeeded J. Morrison Smith as president in 1973.


References

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Sources

* http://www.americanradiohistory.com/National_Radio_Institute_Practical_Radio_1930.htm * https://books.google.com/books?id=HNgDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=NRI+NATIONAL+RADIO+INSTITUTE+appliance+repair&source=bl&ots=5tlw0601R_&sig=--26PuT_H35GdHfPSSQlK3P3l3Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiRlJOtnv3OAhVE4CYKHeHjAeQQ6AEIRTAF#v=onepage&q=NRI%20NATIONAL%20RADIO%20INSTITUTE%20appliance%20repair&f=false * http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Electronics-Illustrated/Electronics-Illustrated-1964-03.pdf * http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=natradionews * http://tenwatts.blogspot.com/2009/01/be-radio-technician.html * http://www.itsallaboutfamily.com/j3/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=456&Itemid=207&lang=en * http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Catalogs/Allied-Catalogs/Conar%2066.pdf * http://www.qsl.net/k4tfj/Conar/conar.html * https://books.google.com/books?id=EE5WoNJ1g-IC&pg=PT196&lpg=PT196&dq=national+radio+institute+mcgraw+hill+cont+ed+ctr&source=bl&ots=hOyQ-0t7fC&sig=ywKBGGSO47cUWNAu48prY0nBbgU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiq0_qFvoLPAhWM5iYKHZyTAf44ChDoAQg4MAQ#v=onepage&q=national%20radio%20institute%20mcgraw%20hill%20cont%20ed%20ctr&f=false * https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2YEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=NRI+popular+mechanics+1996+locksmith&source=bl&ots=MQgRRZLXWu&sig=RzzKLnyZOKT-FO7Lhc288fuUlhk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi8z5iqu5vPAhVi5IMKHStDCp4Q6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=NRI%20popular%20mechanics%201996%20locksmith&f=false * http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/capitalgazette/obituary.aspx?n=john-thompson&pid=174337672 * http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-01-14-electronic-repairs_x.htm * https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED047248.pdf Educational institutions established in 1914 Educational institutions disestablished in 2002 Defunct private universities and colleges in Washington, D.C. 1914 establishments in Washington, D.C.