Founded in 1969, Blue Ridge Community College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

two-year post-secondary

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

with three campuses located in North Carolina's Henderson County and

Transylvania County Transylvania County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census the population is 32,986. Its county seat is Brevard. Transylvania County comprises the Brevard, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also incl ...

. These locations include the Henderson County Campus in Flat Rock, the healthcare-focused Health Sciences Center in Hendersonville, and the Transylvania County Campus in Brevard. Blue Ridge is one o
58 community colleges
of the

North Carolina Community College System The North Carolina Community College System (System Office) is a statewide network of 58 public community colleges. The system enrolls nearly 600,000 students annually. It also provides the North Carolina Learning Object Repository as a central ...

History

According to its college catalog and student handbook, the college was established in May 1969 as Henderson County Technical Institute. At that time, the citizens of Henderson County approved a

bond issue In finance, a bond is a type of security under which the issuer (debtor) owes the holder (creditor) a debt, and is obliged – depending on the terms – to provide cash flow to the creditor (e.g. repay the principal (i.e. amount borrowed) of t ...

and a special

tax levy A tax levy under United States federal law is an administrative action by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under statutory authority, generally without going to court, to seize property to satisfy a tax liability. The levy "includes the power ...

which provided funds for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a physical plant for the school. The institution began operation on December 1, 1969, with the first course offered on January 8, 1970. The first full-time curriculum began on September 14, 1970. On October 12, 1970, the school's

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

voted to change the school's name to ''Blue Ridge'' Technical Institute. On July 9, 1979, they voted to change the name to Blue Ridge Technical ''College''. Its current name—Blue Ridge ''Community'' College—was approved by the board of trustees on September 14, 1987. Today, Blue Ridge operates on three campuses. The Henderson County Campus along College Drive is a 13-building, 128-acre complex two-and-a-half miles southeast of

Hendersonville, North Carolina Hendersonville is a city in and the county seat of Henderson County, North Carolina, United States, located south of Asheville, North Carolina, Asheville. Like the county, the city is named for 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Jus ...

. Its mailing address is 180 West Campus Drive, Flat Rock, NC 28731. The Transylvania County Campus, completed in 2008, occupies two large facilities on nine acres off Oak Park Drive in Brevard. The mailing address of this campus is 45 Oak Park Drive, Brevard, NC 28742. The third location is the Health Sciences Center located in downtown Hendersonville. Blue Ridg
shares this facility
wit
UNC Health Pardee
and

Wingate University Wingate University is a private liberal arts university with campuses in Wingate and Hendersonville, North Carolina. It identifies as a university with "Judeo-Christian heritage." The university enrolls more than 3,450 students. It offers 37 ...

, and the mailing address of this campus is 805 6th Avenue West, Hendersonville, NC 28739. offer

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

and

continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...

classes.

Academics

Blue Ridge Community College is accredited by the

Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees app ...

(SACS) to award the

Associate in Arts An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

degree (A.A.), the

Associate in Science An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree. ...

degree (A.S.), the Associate in Fine Arts degree (A.F.A.), the Associate in General Education degree (A.G.E.), and the Associate in Applied Science degree (A.A.Sc.). The college is an accredited member of the

and all its programs have been approved by the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges. Private support of the college comes from the Blue Ridge Community College Educational Foundation, Inc., founded in 1974.

References

External links

* {{authority control North Carolina Community College System colleges Universities and colleges established in 1969 1969 establishments in North Carolina Two-year colleges in the United States