The college was established by the Government of Alberta to fill a perceived need for college-level programs that focused on career development.

[12] Men's and women's sports include: basketball, hockey, volleyball, soccer, cross country, curling and golf.

In 1988, Don Getty's provincial government committed $100 million for the construction of the City Centre Campus which, at the time, was Alberta Advanced Education and Technology's largest single capital project in its history.

The campus is also home to university courses, diplomas and certificates in health, human services and business.

Each of these groupings of towers forms a terminating vista both when viewed from the north or the south, interrupting the streets after which the buildings are named.

It is home to the MacEwan University Griffins basketball and volleyball programs who play in the Canada West conference of U Sports.

In 2017, the university began construction of a 50,000 square foot student union building next to the Christenson Family Centre.

CAC closed in 2017 when MacEwan relocated the Faculty of Fine Arts and Communications to Allard Hall at City Centre Campus.

The Centre for the Arts and Communications (formerly known as Jasper Place Campus) was located in Edmonton's west end on the north east corner of 156 Street and 100 Avenue.

In the fall of 2017, all CFAC programs and operations were relocated to a new building located on MacEwan's City Centre Campus.

The building is approximately 430,000 square feet in size and connect via pedway to the Robbins Health Learning Centre.

Alberta College is only 1 km from the City Centre Campus, and houses academic upgrading, music and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs.

In 2019, MacEwan University sold the Alberta College Campus to the Edmonton Public School Board (EPSB) [19] as part of a wider campus-consolidation strategy.