Westchester Community College was founded in 1946 as the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences in White Plains. In 1957, the County of Westchester bought the 360-acre John Hartford estate in Valhalla and designated 218 acres for the community college.

There are approximately 13,000 full- and part-time college credit students. Continuing education students bring the total number served by the college each semester to more than 24,000. Precise statistics about the college’s enrollment history can be found in the Institutional Research & Planning pages.