 In 1850 , the Baltimore City Council granted the school the authority to present its graduates with certificates of completion . An effort to expand that academic power and allow the then @-@ named " Central High School of Baltimore " to confer Bachelor of Arts degrees began in 1865 , and continued the following year with the renaming of the institution as " The Baltimore City College " the retitling of its chief academic officer from " principal " to " president " , along with an increase in the number of years of its course of study and the expansion of its courses . However , despite this early elevation effort , it ended unsuccessfully in 1869 , although Baltimore City College continued for a number of years as a hybrid public high school and early form of junior college ( later known as community college ) which did not fully appear in America until the beginning of the 20th Century . As the importance of college education increased toward the end of the 19th century , the school 's priorities shifted to preparing students for college . 
