This paper presents some of the ideas of three early contributors to the junior college movement in the United States (William Watts Folwell, Henry Phillips Tappan, and William Rainey Harper). All three of these men agreed that the first two years of college should be within the realm of secondary schools, or, at least, distinct from the university. The influence of these three men, as well as others, represented the downward extension of higher education and, consequently, the creation of the two-year college. The rising need for paraprofessionals has also provided an impetus for the two-year college movement. [Not available in hard copy due to marginal legibility of original document.] (RC)