Greensboro College is a four year, independent, coeducational institution located in Greensboro, North Carolina and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1838. The College enrolls over 1,200 students from approximately 29 states and 21 nations. The average class size is 14 and the student faculty ratio is 11 to one. The first college to open its doors within the town of Greensboro was the woman's college, Greensboro Female College. The school occupied a 25-acre (100,000 m) campus near the heart of the city within the College Hill Historic District. The institution had its origin in 1833, when the Greensboro Female College was organized as an institution for local children. It was the intent of Reverend Peter Doub that the institution grow to serve women. Through the Methodist Church, a charter was secured in 1838, an event which makes it one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States. The cornerstone of the first building was laid in 1843, and in 1846 the institution opened its doors to students.