40 years of college

College of the Rockies began offering classes 40 years ago, in October 1975

The College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, B.C., has been offering classes since October 1975. — Marie Milner photo

On the first-ever day of classes at East Kootenay Community College (EKCC), there were 543 students enrolled at EKCC venues in Cranbrook, Kimberley, Fernie, Invermere and Golden. That was 40 years ago, on October 6, 1975.

Its founders would be justifiably proud to see how the college—renamed College of the Rockies (COTR) in 1995—has grown in size and influence through the years. For the first seven years, until the 130,000-square-foot Cranbrook campus was opened in September 1982, EKCC classes were held in 17 locations in Cranbrook alone, and in high school classrooms in the other communities. Dedicated facilities were eventually built in Invermere, Fernie, Golden, Creston and Kimberley between 1988 and 2002.

COTR has undergone several enlargements to its facility over the years:

• In 1992, a $4.1-million, 26,600-square-foot expansion was built to include a health wing, the Professional Cook Training program kitchen and Class Act dining room.
• In 1994, a 5,000-square-foot expansion was built to accommodate a mechanics shop.
• In 1995, the Purcell House student residence was opened.
• In 2002, a new childcare facility, Kids on Campus, was completed.
• In 2007, a $16.2-million expansion was completed, to include a new academic building and a trades facility. The same year, the college acquired the former TransCanada Gas facility, which became COTR’s Gold Creek Trades & Technology Centre;
• In 2010, a completed $12.7-million expansion included a beautiful, spacious new entrance hall and some interior renovations.

Those expansions were necessary to accommodate the growing enrolment numbers and the increases in demand for programs. In September 2015, there were 3,330 students enrolled in classes at seven COTR locations. Some are full time, some are part time, and about 200 of them are from outside Canada. An additional 8,000 or so students are registered for on-site continuing education courses on a part-time basis, and more than 1,000 are taking online courses through COTR.

In 1975, the college’s annual budget was $1.2 million, and it employed 24 faculty and support staff. Its annual budget today is $38.9 million, and it has up to 850 employees.

For more details about COTR’s history and growth, scroll down the About Us page on the COTR website and click on Read the History of College of the Rockies.