By spring convocation in June 2010, the college had reached nearly 50,000 alumni. It also awarded its first-ever Durham College honorary credential to dental surgeon Dr. Peter Zakarow, acknowledging his dedication to community involvement and DC, where he served as college governor (starting in 1982) and chair of the Board of Governors (1985-1987).

In September 2010, DC was honoured with the 2010 Business Excellence Award, and later in the year was named one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers.

Enforcing the college’s commitment to the student experience, the Oshawa campus officially opened the Student Services building (SSB) in March 2011, offering one of the most comprehensive and all-encompassing service facilities in the province. The one-stop shop facility creates a vital first point of access for potential applicants, current students and graduates. Within the year, the college also introduced Suswaaning Endaajig, the new Aboriginal Student Centre and the Durham Chinese Canadian Cultural Centre, both located in the Simcoe building.

In May 2011, DC officially opened Phase 2 of the three-phase Whitby campus expansion. Phase 2 introduced an expanded shop focused on green-building trades and technology, as a follow up to the living labs introduced with Phase 1.

In September 2012, DC had the highest enrolment growth of any college in the province, according to figures released by the Ontario College Application Service (OCAS). With the introduction of 11 new programs including Carpentry – Sustainable, Digital Photography, Digital Video Production, Emergency Service Fundamentals, Victimology and Welding Techniques, the college welcomed 5,587 first-year students, an increase of 15.3 per cent over the previous academic year. In addition, enrolment for all years reached 9,047 students, an increase of 14.2 per cent over fall 2011.