RCC College of Technology
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The RCC College of Technology (also known as RCC Institute of Technology or just RCC) is a private technical college located in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. The college is dedicated to providing training in electronics, computing and engineering. RCC has played a valuable role in technology education in Canada for much of the 20th century. Its history is closely intertwined with the growth of the electronics industry in Canada, with the college often pioneering the training in Canada of much-needed engineering technicians and engineering technologists to service this expanding field. RCC is now the only private college in Canada to offer a degree granting program for Computer Network Engineering and Electronics Engineering.
History
It was founded as the Radio College of Canada (hence RCC) in 1928 by J. C. Wilson, an entrepreneurial individual who had previously amassed considerable radio experience in England and the United States. Realizing that the new and rapidly growing radio industry at the time was in need of trained factory and service technicians, Wilson set out to remedy the situation, and in doing so pioneered technical education in electronics in Canada. At the same time, he also established RCC Publications, which continues to supply important technical data to service technicians throughout the country.
In 1930, "two" pioneering organizations (reported the Toronto Globe) Rogers-Majestic Corporation and Radio College of Canada established a plan for registering radio service men of the entire Dominion. Examining and qualifying those who wished to become registered became RCC's role.
In 1937 Radio College was acquired by R. Christopher Dobson, M.A. Oxon and M.C.C. Chisholm. Shortly thereafter, additional and more advanced training programs were added, including courses in commercial radio operating. During this same period the demand for radio operators increased sharply with the growth in both public and private aviation, and, consequently, large classes of radio operators were trained for the Federal Department of Transport.
In the 1940s, Canada's contribution to the World War II effort required immediate and large scale planning to ensure an adequate and continuing supply of well-trained technicians and operators. Training was performed not only for Canada's essential services such as government departments, Merchant Marines, and, of course, the important manufacturing industry, but also for other allied governments. Radio College realized this undertaking by establishing additional facilities and developing specialized training programs.
Among the many programs developed during this period was the training of several classes of women radio operators for the air stations established across the country by the Commonwealth Air Training Scheme. The students who came from all parts of Canada were selected by aptitude tests developed by the College. In addition to the training, Radio College also furnished room, board, nursing and general supervision. Following the war, the College did extensive rehabilitation training for Canadian and United States veterans and later for civilians under government auspices.
Many Merchant Marine graduates of RCC have returned to the college to obtain from records proof of their graduation and marine placement, thereby entitling them to the federal pension that has only just been granted to World War II Merchant Marines.
When television made its appearance in the 1950s, the College again pioneered the training of factory and service personnel for this new and exciting field. Another significant development was the inauguration at the College of an altogether new concept in electronics education, called electronic engineering technology. This was a high level program designed to train "technologists" who would be equipped to assist professional engineers, thereby releasing the engineer for the more important aspects of his or her work. This course concept has been eminently successful and exists today in most post-secondary technical institutes.
In 1957, the Association of Professional Engineers of the Province of Ontario (APEO - see below under external links for archives), now called Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO - see below for external link), decided the time had arrived to recognize the importance of the technician and technologist on the engineering team. Therefore, it appointed a Certification Board - a group of professional engineers - which included Robert Poulter, P.Eng., then President of Radio College. These "founders" established standards for the certificates of qualified technologists and technicians, and also for the accreditation of Schools offering advanced courses at the engineering technologist level.
Radio College of Canada and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (today Ryerson Polytechnic University) were the first schools to be awarded full accreditation. The certification and accreditation programs continue to be carried out under the authority of the Canadian Council of Technicians and Technologists (CCTT) and the Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists (OACETT) by the Canadian Technology Accreditation Board.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the pace of change in technology accelerated dramatically with the advent of digital electronics. It was at this time, in 1969, that a new management group, comprised of Chuck Coutts, Chris Dobson and Hartley Nichol, assumed responsibility for the operation of the College. They faced the challenge of the new technology, the huge growth in the post-secondary "baby boom" population, and the equally large expansion in the number of community colleges in Canada.
RCC met the challenges in this truly revolutionary "new age of technology" by developing the curriculum that has enabled graduates to assume leadership roles in the new digital, computer and microprocessor based occupations in data communications, facsimile, cellular, and computers. At the same time, the College did not lose sight of one of the basic tenets of the curriculum - understanding and believing in the importance of graduating students who will have developed the ability to learn and will be capable of continuing to more advanced levels of studies, and who can keep themselves abreast with the still unknown future advances in their chosen field.
During the 1980s and 1990s RCC remained specialized and focused on the fundamentals of leading edge technology in an electronic engineering technology curriculum to become the leading and largest source of engineering technologists in Canada. In the early 1990s Hartley Nichol, President since 1985 assumed full responsibility for the college and RCC moved to its present facility - a campus located on the northern outskirts of Toronto in the City of Vaughan.
On its 70th anniversary in 1998 the Radio College of Canada officially changed its name to RCC College of Technology.
On June 24, 2004 RCC College made a press release. The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities in Ontario, has allowed RCC to grant bachelor's degrees.