Ashland Junior College was formed in 1938, as a college of opportunity for students to get their first two years of college for an Associate Degree, or to complete their first two years toward a Bachelor’s degree. In 1963, Ashland Junior College was renamed as Ashland Community College, and became part of the University of Kentucky Community College System.
Ashland Vocational School was, coincidentally, formed in 1938, by the Ashland Independent school system. The school provided training in support of the war efforts of the time, and evolved to do a wider variety of vocational and technical training over the years. The school later became part of the Kentucky Department of Education, and was renamed several times over the years. In 1990, the secondary and postsecondary technical schools in Kentucky moved to the newly created Workforce Development Cabinet.
The two colleges followed similar paths of growth and service to the community from their humble beginnings through 1997. That year, community AND technical college education in the state took a dramatic step into the future.
Under House Bill 1, during a special session of the legislature, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) was created. The organization was officially formed on July 1, 1997, as the body responsible for the community and technical college component of higher education in the commonwealth. In January 1998, the community colleges left the University of Kentucky to move to the new Kentucky Community and Technical College System. On July 1, 1998, the technical colleges left the Workforce Development Cabinet to move to KCTCS. The two colleges in Ashland later formed the Ashland District of the KCTCS.
After Dr. Greg Adkins was hired as President / CEO of the Ashland District, the two colleges set out on a path that led to consolidation. The plan was endorsed in public forums of community leaders, and faculty and staff members from each college. The college, Ashland Community & Technical College was officially formed on July 1, 2003. The Commission on Southern Association of Colleges and Schools visited the “new” college in August 2003, and heartily reaffirmed the accreditation for the consolidated college. The former ACC was officially renamed as ACTC, College Drive Campus. The former ATC was officially renamed as ACTC, Roberts Drive Campus.
In 1999, funding was passed to create a new campus of Ashland Technical College in the EastPark Industrial Park. In 2001 ground was broken for the facility. The campus, named the Ashland Community and Technical College Technology Drive Campus, opened for students on August 16, 2004.
In the 2005 and 2006 legislative sessions, funding for Phases II and III were approved for the Technology Drive Campus. This will allow ACTC to return to a two campus college, so that it can further, and better, serve the community. Construction of Phases II and III are expected to be completed in 2009.
