KSYM's establishment was the result of a survey conducted the year before by Dr. Clyde R. Nail, Vice-President of the College and Lynn Emerson, a consultant for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for the Texas Education Agency on the educational needs at the junior college level. One of the conclusions of their study was that no junior college in Texas had a technical program for training students in radio or TV broadcasting. Nail then conducted another survey of radio stations in the San Antonio area to find out their personnel needs. The result of the survey was KSYM. In fact, SYM, part of the station's call letters, stands for, “Symbol of Sound Education.”
