Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) is a public community college in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The college was founded in 1972 as South Oklahoma City Junior College. OCCC has a current enrollment of 18,549 students and is the second largest community college and the fifth largest public higher education institution in Oklahoma. OCCC operates a main campus and three satellite locations in the south metro. A large percentage of OCCC students join or rejoin the local workforce each year. Their added skills translate to earnings of more than $220 million in annual additional income to Oklahoma's economy.
OCCC is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. The name of the college, OCCC, is most often pronounced as "O-Triple-C."
History
1968-1989
In 1968, civic and political leaders in south Oklahoma City began talking about bringing a junior college to the area. The next year, a bill was introduced into the Oklahoma State Legislature to form a college district. On March 20, 1969, a committee of the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce (known as the Greater Capitol Hill Chamber until 1970) was organized to circulate petitions asking the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education to take action to establish a junior college in the area. Shortly after, the district was formed and a board of trustees was appointed.
On Sept. 25, 1972, South Oklahoma City Junior College opened for classes with an enrollment of 1,049 students. A formal dedication followed on Oct. 8, 1972. Construction on the Main Building began in 1973, and the first graduation ceremony was held with five students, who had transferred to the school, receiving associate degrees.
In 1975, the school newspaper, The Pioneer, was first published.
The Career Learning Center and Math Center opened in 1978, and the first Arts Festival Oklahoma was celebrated in 1979.
During this time, the college's official emblem was depicted: the symbol for man joined into a community.
The 1980s saw the completion of the Arts and Humanities Building and the High Technology Building.
In 1983, the college's name was officially changed to Oklahoma City Community College, reflecting its purpose as a college for the entire Oklahoma City metro area community. That same year, nearly 400 students graduated with associate degrees.
In December 1985, OCCC marked the celebration of the 125,000th student to enroll in classes. Meanwhile, the Child Development Center, the College Union and the Physical Plant were undergoing construction efforts until 1987.
In 1988, construction began on the Aquatic Center, which would become the site of the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival aquatic events.
1990-2009
The beginning of the 1990s marked the opening of the School of Nursing and the Health Technologies Center, along with the enclosure of the Aquatic Center.
The college entered into its first cooperative agreements with the University of Central Oklahoma in 1992, easing the transition for its students to the four-year university. In 1994, groundbreaking took place for the library. Two years later, the Keith Leftwich Memorial Library opened its doors with a formal dedication on Oct. 22, 1996. The library's distinctive clock tower is one of the most visible buildings on the main campus.
The college's first online course was offered in 1997. In 1998, the college received a $500,000 economic development grant from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education targeting advancements in the manufacturing and biotechnology fields.
By 1999, the median age of students was 26, and more than 56 percent of students were women. Approximately 25 percent of the student body belonged to a minority group. And, about 66 percent of the nearly 10,000 students attended classes part-time.
In 2007, OCCC began a large expansion adding three new buildings as well as expanding campus program offerings. The Robert P. Todd Science, Engineering and Math Center was a $10 million expansion to the main campus building and was named for the late OCCC president. The 65,500-square-foot facility provided new classrooms and labs. It includes a botany classroom and greenhouse for a biotechnology program.
The Health Professions Education Center, a multimillion-dollar facility housing the Division of Health Professions, was formally dedicated in 2008. The division features a simulated hospital area and one of only two Human Patient Simulators in the state. The facility houses academic degree and certificate programs in emergency medical sciences, registered nursing, occupational therapy and physical therapy.