COCC Quick Facts

Enrollment
Total: 11,024 (2020-21)
Credit: 6,677
Noncredit: 5,547

Average Age of CREDIT Students
25.5 years

Faculty to Student Ratio
1 to 16

Programs of Study (credit students)
Transfer – 49%
CTE – 27%
Exploratory Majors – 2%
Not certificate/degree seeking – 22%

Credit Student by Percentage 
Male – 42%
Female – 54%
Unknown/No Response – 5%

Faculty
Credit courses taught by full-time faculty 64.9%
125 Full-Time
41 Adjunct
88 Part-Time

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HISTORY OF COCC

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 originally housed Oregon State University - Cascades, opened in the fall of 2001. In the last six years, COCC Bend has added the Coats Campus Center, the Jungers Culinary Center, and the Health Careers and Science Centers. In the fall of 2015 the new 330 bed Wickiup Residence Hall opened bringing the Bend campus to 26 buildings.

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.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

From "The Economic Contributions of Central Oregon Community College (Fiscal Year 2018-19)" by Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc., August 2020.

"Central Oregon Community College (COCC) creates a significant positive impact on the business community and generates a return on investment to its major stakeholder groups—students, taxpayers, and society."

ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS

• The activities of COCC and its students support 4,166 jobs annually, or one out of every 35 jobs in the COCC district.
• Altogether, the annual added net income due to the activities of COCC and its former students equals $298.4 million. This is approximately equal to 2.5% of the total Central Oregon Community College District region’s total gross regional product (GRP).
• The net impact of COCC's former students currently employed in the regional workforce amounted to $219.4 million in added annual income.
• An estimated 92% of students remain in the COCC District after finishing their time at COCC.

INVESTMENT ANALYSIS

• The average associate degree graduate from COCC will see an increase in earnings of $8,000 each year compared to someone with a high school diploma working in Oregon.
• For every dollar a student invests in COCC, they receive $3.70 in higher future earnings over the course of their working careers. Students’ average annual rate of return is 18.5%.
• Since education is statistically associated with a variety of lifestyle changes, social savings are generated that reduce the demand for government-funded services in Oregon, saving the public some $4.2 million per year. Oregon will also benefit from an estimated $12.4 million of public and private sector savings in present value social savings related to reduced crime, lower welfare and unemployment, and increased health and well-being across the state.
• For every dollar of public money invested in COCC, taxpayers will receive $2.00 in return, over the course of students’ working lives. Taxpayers see a rate of return of 7.0% on their investment in COCC.