[5] In 1976, after seven years at the original campus in the old Nanaimo Hospital building at 388 Machleary Street, Malaspina College moved to its new campus on Fifth Street (the present location of VIU) on former Department of National Defense land adjoining the existing Nanaimo Vocational Training School, which had offered trades programs since 1936.

Following a 1988 government initiative designed to increase access to degree programs in British Columbia, five community colleges in BC were granted authority to offer baccalaureate degrees, and these five institutions — Malaspina, Fraser Valley, Kwantlen, Cariboo and Okanagan—were renamed university colleges.

[7] In 1995, the province of British Columbia enacted legislation changing the institution's name to Malaspina University-College and allowed it to begin granting academic degrees and college diplomas.

When VIU appointed Chief Atleo as Chancellor he became the first Indigenous person to hold this position in British Columbia.

[11] Occupying three campuses and a number of facilities including the Deep Bay Marine Field Station, and Milner Gardens and Woodlands, VIU has had many renovations and major developments in the past few years to accommodate its growing student body and faculty.

At this main campus, the most recent facility is the Dr. Ralph Nilson Centre for Health & Science and a new Marine, Automotive and Trades Complex, built with funding from the federal and provincial governments as well as through community support.

It leverages the long-abandoned coal mining infrastructure to enable an environmentally responsible heating and cooling solution.

This open loop geo-exchange system consumes no groundwater while heating and cooling buildings for only the cost of pumping the water.

Other notable areas on the Nanaimo campus include Shq'apthut: A Gathering Place, which houses the Elders-in-Residence and staff from VIU's Office of Indigenous Education and Engagement; the Kwulasulwut Garden that honours Coast Salish elder and retired VIU Elder-in-Residence Ellen White; two traditional Japanese-style gardens; and the Jardin des quatorze (Garden of the Fourteen), which commemorates the women who died in the 1989 mass shooting at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.

Current partner institutions are located in Australia, England, Finland, France, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland and the USA.

Vancouver Island University also offers short-term study abroad options in some program areas; destination countries include Belgium, Belize, the Cook Islands, Indonesia, Italy, USA (New York), Tanzania, Korea, France, and Spain.

Their purpose is to provide comprehensive, high-quality education respectful of the cultures of Indigenous peoples, while meeting their diverse needs.