The Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community founded the college with the understanding that American Indian students, as members of sovereign nations, deserved an educational system responsive to their needs and concerns.

[4] Traditional leaders provide direction to faculty and staff for incorporating the Ojibwa language and culture into each of the KBOCC programs.

The U.S. Department of Education approved the KBOCC application for Title IV federal student aid programs.

KBOCC is a member of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), which is a community of tribally and federally chartered institutions.

KBOCC generally serves geographically isolated populations that have no other means accessing education beyond the high school level.