Walter Rasmussen founded the school in 1900 as the Rasmussen Practical School of Business, in
Stillwater, Minnesota. Rasmussen believed the need for skilled professionals by the local business community was not being met. With the advent of
women's suffrage in 1921 through the
Nineteenth Amendment, the school's female enrollment began to increase. In 1945 Walter Rasmussen
retired and named Walter Nemitz to succeed him as director of the college. Nemitz had been with the college since 1934 and as director instituted a number of
curriculum upgrades. By 1950, more than 22,400 students had graduated from the school. In Minnesota, the Bloomington campus replaced the Eden Prairie location, the Brooklyn Park campus replaced the Blaine location and the Lake Elmo campus was consolidated with the Eagan campus in 2022. In 2001, Rasmussen College was accredited by the
Higher Learning Commission. Rasmussen opened an online campus in 2002. The school acquired
Aakers College in North Dakota and Webster College in Florida and merged the schools into Rasmussen's operations. In 2010, Rasmussen College announced a partnership with Market Motive Inc and announced programs in
Internet marketing. Rasmussen was sold to Renovus Capital in 2018. Rasmussen College became Rasmussen University in October, 2020. That same month,
American Public Education, Inc began the process of acquiring Rasmussen. ==Academics==