Neosho County Community College (NCCC) traces its beginnings to Chanute Junior
College, established in 1936 so that graduates of Chanute High School as well as
other area high schools could attend college close to home. Chanute Junior
College operated as a part of the public school system and was governed by the
Chanute Board of Education until July 1, 1965.
In 1961, State legislation provided the means for the college to become a
countywide community junior college, and on July 1, 1965, Chanute Junior College
became Neosho County Community Junior College, an institution with its own
governing Board of Trustees. Voters in Neosho County passed a bond issue in
October 1965, providing for a four-building campus, separate from the high
school, to be constructed in the southwestern part of Chanute. The new
facilities—two instructional buildings, with one containing an administrative
center; a library; and a student center—were ready for use at the start of the
1968 fall semester. Added to the campus was an interdenominational
chapel, a gift from the estate of the late Jewel and K.C. Snyder.
Since 1968, several new buildings have been added to the Chanute campus,
including two residence halls, one built in 1971 and another in 2000; a
vocational building, completed in 1981; a wellness center, completed in 1991;
and a multipurpose building, completed in 2001, as well as expansion and
remodeling of some existing facilities.
The university parallel transfer program remains an important one, but state
legislation in July 1980 allowed the College to reflect the fact that the
transfer program was only one aspect of the total operation of the College. The
word junior was omitted from the College name.
In 1979, the Kansas State Board of Education, the state-level body that then
exercised oversight for community colleges, assigned service areas to the
various colleges. In addition to Neosho County, the College was assigned
Franklin County and most of Anderson County. In 1991, the College opened a
branch campus in Ottawa, the county seat of Franklin County, using a new
building through a lease agreement with the City of Ottawa. An expansion of that
building occurred in 1995. In 2003, the NCCC Foundation purchased the Ottawa
campus. Today, the College offers classes and other services on the Chanute
campus, the Ottawa campus, and outreach sites in all three counties.
Additionally the College offers courses through the Lawrence Center, Mercy
Hospital in Independence, KS, and on-line.
