Southwestern Community College was established in Sylva on Dec. 1, 1964 as the Jackson County Industrial Education Center, a satellite unit of Asheville-Buncombe Technical Institute. Since achieving independent status in the fall of 1967, the College (then known as Southwestern Technical Institute) has greatly expanded its educational and training services to the residents of Jackson, Macon and Swain counties.
Currently, including all diploma, certificate and associate's degree curricula as well as concentrations, instruction is provided in more than 60 programs. In addition to the Jackson and Macon Campuses, the college also operates four centers located in Bryson City, Cherokee, Franklin and Cashiers. More than 2,600 students enroll annually in credit courses, and more than 5,500 (unduplicated) participate in a wide variety of courses, workshops and seminars offered through Continuing Education.
