During the 1840s and 50s, waves of immigrants flooded into St. Louis, boosting the population of the young city. With these newcomers came a pressing need for education -- both industrial training and basic general courses -- conducted outside of normal working hours. So the first educational step of the young Washington University was to establish an evening program on October 22, 1854. Over the succeeding decades, the continuing education program underwent many changes. In 1908, for example, the College of Arts and Sciences began to offer Saturday classes. University College was founded officially in 1931 and has been serving the St. Louis region ever since.