Cowley County Community College and Area Vocational-Technical School was started on Sept 11, 1922 in Arkansas City, Kansas. The journey of his community college to offer higher education to the community started when 58 students enrolled to take classes at Arkansas City Junior College. The Community College is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools; and by the Kansas State Board of Regents. Cowley County Community College, a leader in innovation and quality, is committed to learning excellence and personal enrichment in an open-access environment. It works hard to maintain higher standards of quality that will provide students an education that will prepare them either to transfer to a four-year program or to enter into the workforce. The various educational programs in the college are offered under six academic departments, namely, Allied Health, Business and Information Technology, Humanities, Industrial Technology, Natural Science and Mathematics, and Social Science. The vocational/technical school of the college offers two-year job-oriented degree programs. Cowley County Community College and Area Vocational-Technical School has a number of off-campus sites with major centers in Mulvane, Wellington, Wichita, and Winfield. Its Aviation Tech Center in Wichita offers the Aviation Maintenance Technology program. The college also offers distance and online learning programs.