In its initial years, the school awarded degrees through Dalhousie University, but became an independent institution in 1962.[1] In 1998 the school changed its name again to the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts to reflect the school's expansion into other performance mediums beyond music. This name change was legally changed when the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts was confirmed in Chapter 11 of the Acts of 2006, titled The Maritime Conservatory Reorganization Act, which received Royal Assent on July 14, 2006.