Since the University of Mary's beginnings as Mary College in the late 1950s, its history has been one of rapid expansion. Founded in 1959 by The Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery as a women's college, it became fully co-educational in the 1960s. It achieved university status — becoming the University of Mary — in 1986. The University of Mary is the only private, Catholic university in North Dakota. It has been accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools since 1969. Since its incorporation in 1959, the university's enrollment has grown from 69 to more than 3,000. Ever mindful of its mission to serve the region's religious, academic, and cultural needs.