in august 1997, vmi enrolled its first female cadets. the first co-ed class consisted of thirty women, and matriculated as part of the class of 2001. in order to accelerate vmi's matriculation process several women were allowed to transfer directly from various junior colleges, such as new mexico military institute (nmmi), and forgo the traditional four-year curriculum that most cadets had been subjected to. the first female cadets "walked the stage" in 1999, although by vmi's definitions they are considered to be members of the class of 2001. initially, these 30 women who were held to the same strict physical courses and technical training as the male cadets until it became apparent that adjustments to the standards had to be made. vmi resisted following other military colleges in adopting "gender-normed" physical training standards until 2008 when it was listed as a goal in vmi's 2039 strategic plan. on 30 june 2008, gender-normed training standards were implemented for all female cadets.