Thus, the sixth Territorial Legislature passed an appropriation bill on March 1, 1901, for the establishment of the University Preparatory School at Tonkawa.

[3] The school closed during World War I from 1917 to 1919, when Governor Robert L. Williams vetoed the appropriation bill for the biennium.

With the passage of the Higher Education Code in 1965, the institution received its present name, Northern Oklahoma College, and the three-person Board of Regents was expanded to five members.

[5] NOC is nationally recognized by the Aspen Institute in Washington DC as being in the top 10 percent of community colleges in the country.

As a way to drive NOC enrollment Harris suggested focusing on technology and promoting individual programs that would attract potential students wanting their associate degree.

All program oversight in academic, financial, student service, personnel, development, physical plant, and information technology is housed in Tonkawa.

It is also home to radio station KAYE-FM, the A. D. Buck Museum of Science and History, and the North Oklahoma Botanical Garden and Arboretum.

[12] Pickens Museum has displayed exhibitions on the Tonkawa campus by Donald De Lue, Robert Hardee, C. J.

Since its purchase by NOC in 1999, this campus has grown in offering multiple two-year liberal arts degree programs to some 1,200 students each semester.

The Enid campus continues to expand its faculty, curriculum, and clubs and activities to meet the needs of people in northwest Oklahoma.

Primarily a Gateway Program, the Stillwater campus serves students who would otherwise not be admitted to Oklahoma State University.

The campus, however, also admits students seeking general education courses that transfer to other comprehensive colleges and universities.