Page 8 - Southwestern Community College Catalog 2019-2020
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ABOUT SCC
COLLEGE VISION
Southwestern Community College will be an educational gateway for enriching lives and strengthening our community.
MISSION STATEMENT
Southwestern Community College is a learning and teaching institution offering high- quality, innovative instruction and support, which promotes student achievement, academic excellence and economic development.
INSTITUTIONAL GOALS
The college will...
1. Provide excellence in learning and teaching for transfer, career education and literacy
development in an accessible format.
2. Provide comprehensive and effective services to enroll students and support their suc-
cess.
3. Strengthen student understanding of career pathways leading to success in career and
academic planning.
4. Generate support for students, faculty, staff and programs from internal and external
sources.
5. Enhance SCC’s positive image throughout - and beyond- our service area.
6. Provide engaged leadership in workforce and economic development.
7. Identify, acquire and maintain resources to support the vision, mission and goals of the
college.
8. Attract and retain quality employees and provide for their professional development.
9. Provide the services, programs and infrastructure to ensure a safe and secure learning
environment.
INSTITUTIONAL PROFILE
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 and the Qualla Boundary.
Initially, the Jackson County Industrial Education Center was approved to offer four pro- grams of study: automotive mechanics; carpentry and cabinetmaking; block and brick mason- ry; and radio, television and small-appliance repair. When the center opened its doors in 1964, a total of 133 students were enrolled in short-term courses. An additional 60 were enrolled in full-day classes.
Currently, including all diploma, certi cate and associate degree curricula as well as concentrations, instruction is provided in a wide range of programs. In addition to the Jackson Campus, the college operates centers in Bryson City and Franklin. More than 3,200 students enroll annually in credit courses, and more than 4,600 (unduplicated) participate in a wide variety of courses, workshops and seminars offered through Continuing Education.
Located on a 57-acre tract of land on North Carolina Highway 116 between Webster and Sylva, the Southwestern Community College Jackson Campus consists of nine buildings, to- taling 232,728 square feet, including a library. Centrally located to serve southwestern North Carolina, the college is 50 miles southwest of Asheville and 90 miles southeast of Knoxville, TN.
Southwestern Community College’s three-county service area totals 1,534 square miles (30 percent larger than the state of Rhode Island) and has a population of approximately 78,000. The area is noted for the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains and the variety of recre- ational opportunities available.
2019-20 Catalog