During its 90-year history, the
Radio College of Canada has played
a leading role in technology training
and education in Canada. While its
past provides evidence of
the Institution’s leadership, RCC’s reputation is
inextricably linked to the accomplishments of its
nearly 40,000 graduates who have contributed to
Canada’s high technology sectors.
Founded in 1928 by entrepreneur J. C. Wilson, the
Radio College of Canada’s aim was to examine
and qualify radio servicemen of the British
Dominions. In 1937 the College was acquired by R.
Christopher Dobson and additional and advanced
programs were added, including courses in
commercial radio operation, in response to
increased demand with the growth in aviation.
In the 1940s RCC trained technicians and
operators for essential services in government
departments and Merchant Marines to aid in
Canada’s contribution to the Second World War.
The school also trained several classes of female
radio operators to work in air stations. After the
War ended the College continued its contribution
with extensive rehabilitation training for Canadian
and United States veterans.
With the advent of television in the 1950s, the
College trained factory and service personnel.
It also developed a new concept in electronics education, ‘electronic engineering technology’,
a high-level program designed to train
technologists equipped to assist professional
engineers in matters of applied technology.
In 1957, the Association of Professional Engineers
of Ontario established a Certification Board,
which included Robert Poulter P.Eng, the
third president of RCC, to establish certificate
standards for qualified technologists and
technicians and the accreditation of schools
offering advanced courses. RCC and Ryerson
were the first schools to be awarded full
accreditation from this Certification Board.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the pace
of change in technology accelerated dramatically
with the introduction of digital electronics.
Under the leadership of Chuck Coutts, Chris
Dobson and Hartley Nichol, RCC developed the
curriculum to service the new digital, computer
and microprocessor-based occupations in data
communications, facsimile, mobile phones, and
computer technology. During the 1980s and
1990s, RCC remained specialized and focused on
the fundamentals of leading edge technology in
electronic engineering technology curriculum and
graduated some of the best-prepared engineering
technologists in Canada.
In the early 1990s, Hartley Nichol, President of the
school since 1987, assumed full responsibility for the college, and RCC moved to its present facility,
a campus on Steeles Avenue West in Vaughan,
Ontario.
In 2004, RCC achieved consent to offer
bachelor’s degrees. RCC Institute of Technology
was the first and only Ontario private college to
achieve this status. In that same year, Dr. Rick
Davey was appointed RCC’s sixth President, and
the Institution began to diversify its programming
to include Computer Information Systems.
In 2008, RCC Institute of Technology acquired the
International Academy of Design and Technology,
a well-known private college founded in 1983 as
the International Academy of Merchandising and
Design. This expanded RCC’s offerings to include
a Bachelor of Interior Design and the Toronto Film
School programs.
In 2017 RCC amalgamated with its parent
institution, Yorkville University, thus establishing
Yorkville University/Ontario.