The Ohio Mechanics Institute expanded on all fronts and secured its academic status. An Industrial Museum opened in 1914, housing the Emery Collection amid an array of international artifacts and industrial products reflecting twentieth-century technology. New programs in printing and lithography were launched with financial support and laboratory equipment from industry.

World War I brought a US Army contract to provide technical instruction to more than one thousand injured servicemen. After the war, a new two-year, work/study program in Power Laundry attracted students from 17 states, plus Canada, England, and Scotland—testimony to OMI’s growing reputation for leadership in applied learning.

In 1934, OMI introduced cooperative education to its Industrial Engineering programs; in 1948, the programs received accreditation from the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development. Later mid-century developments included full-time, associate degrees in Civil, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering Technology, and in Chemical Technology. For these and other programs created throughout the twentieth century, cooperative education and professional accreditation served as the hallmarks of OMI degrees.

Evolving academic programs led to reorganization in 1958. Within the OMI corporate structure, the day school was named the Ohio College of Applied Science (OCAS), and the night school was named the Ohio Mechanics Institute Evening College (OMIEC).

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