About

Central Oregon Community College was founded in 1949 as part of the Bend School District. It is the longest standing community college in Oregon. The College District was formed in 1959 and officially established as the Central Oregon Area Education District by a vote of residents in 1962. 

In the spring of 1962, a 140-acre tract of land on the west side of Awbrey Butte was donated for the purposes of establishing COCC's main campus. Additional smaller purchases and donations increased the COCC Bend campus to a total of 202 acres that face a spectacular view of Oregon's Cascade mountain range. Construction began in 1963, and the first three buildings - Ochoco, Modoc and Deschutes - were completed by the spring of 1964. In 1965, Jefferson, Metolius and Grandview Student Union were constructed. Six additional buildings were opened in the next 10 years. The late 1980s and 1990s saw the addition of the Boyle Education Center, the Barber Library and Newberry Hall. Cascades Hall, which houses Oregon State University - Cascades, opened in the fall of 2001. In the last five years, COCC Bend has added the Coats Campus Center, the Jungers Culinary Center, and the Health Careers and Science Centers, bringing the Bend campus to 26 buildings. A new 330 bed residence hall will open in Fall 2015. 

In addition, on the 25-acre Redmond Campus near the Redmond Airport, four buildings serve students with a variety of career programs and transfer eligible classes. The newest building, the Technology Education Center, opened in Fall 2014. 

In 2011, COCC opened campuses in both Madras and Prineville, providing classes and services to residents of Jefferson and Crook Counties.

COCC opened new state-of-the-art Health Careers and Science Centers on the Bend Campus in 2012, including labs for programs in nursing, dental assisting, medical assisting, massage therapy, pharmacy technician, veterinary technician, biology, chemistry, geology and physics.