Rose State College was originally named Oscar Rose Junior College in memory of Oscar V. Rose, a former Mid-Del School District school superintendent. The school was renamed Rose State College by Senate Bill Number 9 in April 1983 that went into effect on November 1, 1983. Rose State College offered its first classes on September 21, 1970. Voters in Midwest City, Del City, and portions of southeastern and northeastern Oklahoma City approved the college district in 1968. This vote followed passage of Senate Bill Number 2 in 1967, a law enabling district-operated community colleges to receive state aid. Voters then passed a $1.75 million general obligation bond issue, a two-mill levy for operating expenses in 1969, and a three-mill levy for operations in 1970. In December 1973, the junior college became a member of The Oklahoma State System of Higher Education, after approval from the Rose State College Board of Trustees. Rose State College exists as a publicly created and sustained, open-admissions, associate degree-granting college to provide comprehensive lower-division programs of higher education and related community services.