In 1968, the Board of Directors adopted Des Moines Area Community College as the official name of the college. The 1st classes were held at the new Ankeny Campus location in 1968. Administrative and operational control of Boone Junior College was taken over in 1969 and Carroll Campus in Carroll, Iowa was initiated in 1979. The Urban Campus started operation in metropolitan Des Moines in 1972, and a new facility was built at 7th and Laurel in 1980. The 1st classes were held in the fall of 1993 at Newton Polytechnic as a result of the cooperative effort of the Iowa State University, Maytag Corporation, the City of Newton, and the DEs Moines Area Community College Foundation. In October 2001, the state-of-the-art technology facility, West Campus, opened in West Des Moines.

Des Moines Area Community College, "Bears", compete in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference and the National Junior College Athletic Association.