Within two years, The Fireside Correspondence School offered 11 secondary and nine college courses. By 1916 its students represented nearly every state and province in the U.S. and Canada, as well as 10 other countries. The Fireside Correspondence School was later renamed Home Study Institute (HSI); the name was subsequently changed to Home Study International.

In 1990, the HSI Board of Directors assigned names to its three academic divisions; thus, Home Study Elementary School, Home Study High School, and Griggs University became part of HSI’s terminology. In 1991, Griggs University began offering college degrees. In recent years, the homeschool movement has exploded, but the term “homeschool” has taken on special meaning for school districts and families who design their own school programs. Pressure from students, parents and other institutional partners drove the HSI Board of Directors to reexamine the school’s name in order to better reflect the mission and operation of HSI. In 2005, the Board voted to change the name of the organization to Griggs University (GU) and Griggs International Academy (GIA).

Since 1909, more than 240,000 people have studied with Griggs. Griggs plays a unique and vital role in the educational development of students of all ages in all parts of the world. People from all walks of life have discovered that distance education helps develop self-reliance, independent thinking and responsibility. From its humble beginnings in a one-room office, Griggs has grown into a worldwide school that maintains high scholastic standards and utilizes the services of qualified professionals in all aspects of its operation. Yet Griggs combines the convenience of a portable education with the personal touch provided by faculty and advisors who care about students.

In 2009, Griggs celebrated its 100th birthday. Our administration, faculty and staff remain committed to the vision of Frederick Griggs, who believed that every student has the right to an education. All of us at Griggs recognize that we share with parents a responsibility to help students develop the skills, knowledge and judgment necessary to build a community better than the one they inherited.

During the summer of 2010, a committee was established to study the feasibility of Andrews University owning and operating Griggs International Academy. This committee recommended that the University assume ownership of the Academy.

In November 2010, the Andrews University board voted to accept ownership of both Griggs University and Griggs International Academy, thus enabling the institution to remain intact and then relocate Griggs to Berrien Springs, Michigan, on the campus of the University. In order to administer its new acquisitions, Andrews University established a School of Distance Education under the direction of a Dean.

The move to Andrews University has resulted in more than a simple relocation for the Academy. It has meant a complete restructuring of the organization and rebuilding of staff. During this transition, the institution’s commitment to the basic intent of its mission statement has remained firm. We have restructured in such a way as to provide the staff resources necessary to improve curriculum, faculty effectiveness and student support.

We are in the process of developing a new institutional infrastructure that will support our vision and better utilize technology to serve students, parents and faculty.

Griggs International Academy also shares with Andrews University a student body that is not limited to one place. Griggs is literally an international academy. Griggs International Academy continues to provide a solid education to a diverse student body located in most of the countries of the world.

With one man's vision, Griggs International Academy continues to meet the educational needs of students and families around the world.