It hosted a wide range of foreign students, including many from Hong Kong, Indonesia, and the United States.
Dr. Hugh L. Keenleyside, a noted Canadian civil servant and scholar, served as Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Governors of Notre Dame University College from 1969 to 1977.
NDU served as the headquarters of the Canadian National Ski Team and embarked on a student-inspired scheme to finance a new student union building independently of university funds.
Although the University attracted sufficient numbers of students, it encountered financial difficulties, perhaps in part connected to internal strife - Notre Dame was the first university in Canada to endorse a faculty labour union.
In spite of its local and regional popularity, the provincial government found the per-student cost too high and closed it in 1984.