Kirtland was founded in 1966 when six local school districts, Crawford-AuSable, Fairview Area, Gerrish-Higgins, Houghton Lake Mio-AuSable, and West Branch-Rose City, voted to create Kirtland Community College under the provisions of Michigan's Public Act 188 of 1955, it is the state's largest community college district geographically, totaling 2,500 square miles (6,500 km2) and consisting of all or part of nine counties.

The ASA (Associate in Science and Arts) allows students to complete their basic classes at Kirtland.

Students who complete either programs successfully are entitled to sit for the certification examination provided by the AMT.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have guidelines for facilities to receive funding if medical staff are entering prescriptions or orders into the Electronic health record, requiring those persons to have, at minimum, a certification through a professionally recognized medical assisting credentialing center.

[10] Kirtland Community College received a grant to fund a concurrent BSN-RN pathway in partnership with Saginaw Valley State University beginning in October 2022.

[11] KCC subsequently partnered with Grand Valley State University in 2024 to provide additional bachelor's degrees to students in the area.

The mission of Phi Theta Kappa is two-fold: recognize and encourage the academic achievement of two-year college students and provide opportunities for individual growth and development through participation in honors, leadership, service and fellowship programming.

Requirements: Students must be enrolled at Kirtland Community College and have completed at least 12-college level credits with a 3.5 or higher grade point average.

The boys and girls Firebird basketball players play at home in their more recently built gym at the Thomas Quinn Event Center.

The Thomas Quinn Event Center features three complete basketball courts, two of which are multipurpose material.

[14] The Kirtland Firebirds compete in cross-country, golf and bowling in the MCCAA (Michigan Community College Athletic Association), and go head-to-head with four-year universities in Michigan and Ohio in regional competitions and at the national level for the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletics Association) Division II.

From top-tier recruits to walk-ons, all our student-athletes earn scholarships, and Firebirds have a track record of transferring to join teams at four-year universities.

[16] With home sport areas in Grayling at Hanson Hills, at Hi Skore Lanes in West Branch and at the Graying Country Club golf course, there is plenty of opportunities in the region for fans to attend matches and support our student-athletes.