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Kwantlen College was formed in 1981 as the result of a separation from Douglas College.

In June 1980, responding to the provincial government's desire for a "realignment of educational services" in the Douglas College region, the Board recommended the College be divided into two institutions. At the time, Douglas had eight campuses: New Westminster, Surrey, Richmond, Coquitlam, Langley, Maple Ridge, Agnes Street, and Newton Centre. The geographic dividing line would be the Fraser River, with those campuses north of the river remaining part of Douglas College and those south of the river forming a new institution. The name Kwantlen College was selected through a contest and was approved by Grand Chief Joe Gabriel of the Kwantlen First Nation.

In 1995, Kwantlen College became Kwantlen University College.

The Douglas College Student Society (DCSS) was incorporated in 1972 under the Society Act with a mandate to represent and protect the rights and interests of students. The makeup of the Society's executive membership has changed over time, but typically included a President, Vice President(s), Secretary, Treasurer, and campus- or program-specific representatives. At different times in the history of the DCSS, the records of the Executive were collected by a staff person who was also responsible for the management of Society business/administration.

When the DCSS was formed it represented students from three campuses: New Westminster, Surrey, and Richmond. For this reason, the earliest governing body of the DCSS - the Student Council - was also sometimes called the Tri-Council. By 1979, five additional campuses were also being represented by the DCSS: Coquitlam, Langley, Maple Ridge, Agnes Street, and Newton Centre. Consequently, the DCSS's governing body became the Multi Campus Council. In the early 1980s, following the College's split into two separate institutions, the DCSS updated its Constitution and its governing body was reorganized as the Senate. Rather than a campus-specific focus like its predecessor, the Senate used a model of representation based on areas of study.

In 1992, DCSS membership voted to leave the Canadian Federation of Students, only to re-join the national organization six years later. In 1999, the DCSS underwent a restructuring in which it was renamed the Douglas Students' Union (Canadian Federation of Students, Local 18).

The Douglas Students' Union (DSU) is a non-profit society incorporated under the BC Societies Act. The Union represents students on matters of school policy, provides services and hosts events aimed at enriching campus life, and engages in advocacy on behalf of its members.

Since the college's opening in 1970 until a name change in the late 1990s, the Public Information Office (PIO) was responsible for promoting the institution both within the campus community and throughout the Lower Mainland. The PIO shared information about programming and events, working with the administration and other internal stakeholders to develop and promote the College's public image. The office produced advertisements, drafted speeches and press releases, designed posters and brochures, and publicized the accomplishments of faculty, staff, and students. William Bell led the PIO as Public Information Officer from the early 1970s until 1992. He was succeeded by Brad Barber.

In 1996, the Public Information Office became the Communications and Marketing Office.

The Communications and Marketing Office (formerly the Public Information Office) developed and administered College marketing plans, produced College publications and promotional materials, liaised with media, established proactive publicity activities, coordinated and provided support for College special events, and supported internal communications through the College newsletter, bulletins and other materials.

The Office's name was changed to the Marketing & Communications Office.

In 1965, the Coquitlam school district contacted the school districts of Maple Ridge, New Westminster and Burnaby to determine what interest there might be in a joint endeavor to establish a community college. On December 7, 1965 an agreement for a joint study was reached and each district was asked to appoint a trustee and its district superintendent of schools to a Regional College Steering Committee.

EVENT is a literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, non-fiction, notes on writing, and book reviews by emerging and established writers. It was founded in 1971 due in large part to the efforts of creative writing professor David Evanier, who was also the magazine's first editor. Associate editors were made up of faculty from the Department of English and Communications.

When Kwantlen College was formed in 1981, responsibility for EVENT shifted to that institution, which is where key faculty involved with the publication had been re-assigned. When Kwantlen announced its plans to cease funding EVENT at the end of the 1984-85 fiscal year, then-editor Leona Gom launched a campaign to save the publication. Readers, past contributors, and other members of the Canadian literary community rallied to the cause and Douglas College agreed to take back control for the magazine in 1985.

Contributors to EVENT have included writers like Gordon Pinsent, Carol Shields, Susan Musgrave, Madeleine Thien, Timothy Taylor, and Alistair MacLeod. The magazine has also been the recipient of numerous National Magazine Awards and Western Magazine Awards.

Past editors include: David Evanier (1971-1973), Robert W. Lowe (1974-1975), Monica Ochs (1975), Rona Murray (1975), John Levin (1976-1980), Leona Gom (1980-1984), Dale Zieroth (1983-1986), Calvin Wharton (1997-2001), Cathy Stonehouse (2001-2004), Billeh Nickerson (2004-2007), Rick Maddocks (2007-2010), Elizabeth Bachinsky (2011-2014), Ian Cockfield (2014), and Shashi Bhat (2015- ).

The Charter of Rights Committee was originally formed in response to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom's main equality provisions coming into effect in 1985. The Committee's purpose was the creation of a cross-divisional project to integrate teaching of the Charter into the College's curriculum. An announcement in a January 1987 edition of the Mad Hatter newsletter stated: "The Charter has the potential to bring about profound change in the community and as a teaching institution and a community college we must be actively involved in fostering understanding, initiating community discussion, and preparing our students to participate in the shaping of their society."

The Committee oversaw the creation of a course (IDST 100 Human Rights and Canadian Society: Multidisciplinary Perspectives), which was offered from 1989 until at least 2006.

Records of the Committee cease after April 1990.

The Office of Director of Libraries (a position originally called Chief Librarian) was responsible for the management of librarians and staff while also leading the development of library policy, coordination with other branches of the College, and generally providing for the administration of the libraries at each of the seven campuses by the end of the 1970s.

The library as a department within the College began in January 1970 with the appointment David R. Williams as Chief Librarian. By the end of the first academic year there were fully functioning libraries at the New Westminster, Richmond, and Surrey campuses. These libraries were housed in the modular, prefabricate buildings ubiquitous at Douglas College during its early years. The collection of books and other materials was originally processed through an agreement with Simon Fraser University. The library's first ten years were characterized by rapid growth as new campuses with libraries were opened in Coquitlam, Langley, and Surrey's Newton town centre. Library services were also available at the Maple Ridge campus and the Agnes Street annex in New Westminster. When Douglas College was "split" to create Kwantlen College, the library's collection and personnel were also divided between the two institutions. Williams went on to become the Vice-President of Kwantlen College and was succeeded as Director of Libraries by Virginia Chisholm.

In 1982, the Coquitlam and New Westminster libraries were amalgamated in the recently completed permanent campus at Royal Avenue in New Westminster. This roughly coincided with a reorganization in which the Department of Learning Resources was created to oversee the direction of both the library and Instructional Media Services (IMS).