Institutional Background

Blue Ridge Community College is a two-year, comprehensive post-secondary institution. Its service area includes Henderson and Transylvania Counties which are located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina.  Blue Ridge:

• Offers more than 95 programs of study that include associate degrees, diplomas and certificates.
• Offers a wide range of college transfer courses.
• Has three articulation programs with four-year colleges and universities.
• Provides one of the largest Continuing Education programs in the state.

Students successfully graduating from Blue Ridge are eligible to transfer into any of North Carolina's 18 public colleges and universities. Many students take advantage of scholarships offered through the College's Educational Foundation or with assistance from grants and loans.

Blue Ridge maintains an extensive lineup of technical programs designed to prepare students for successful careers in nursing, automotive technology, law enforcement, emergency response fields, engineering technology, machining technology, and many others.

The College, which was chartered in 1969, is one of 58 public institutions within the North Carolina Community College System and operates under the leadership of the President and a fifteen-member Board of Trustees. The mission of the College is to provide education, training, and community enrichment activities for residents of Henderson County, Transylvania County, and the surrounding area.

BRCC works closely with area business and industry to promote economic development and places a high value on cultural, gender, racial, and ethnic diversity.  BRCC draws 13 percent of its students from outside the College's service area. The average age of a Blue Ridge Community College curriculum student is 28 years. For the 2010 Spring Semester 46% of curriculum students were full-time students and 54% were part-time students. For the same semester, 19% were employed full-time, 32% part-time, and 49% either unemployed or retired. The gender make up was 41% male and 59% female. For the 2008-2009 academic year (12 months), curriculum students totaled 3,108 and continuing education students totaled 14,256.

The College's Henderson County Campus is located just south of Hendersonville, the county seat of Henderson County. The College operates the Transylvania County Campus in Brevard, NC, 22 miles from the main campus .  This campus accounts for 19 percent of the College's student population.

The College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. In the 2009-2010 academic year, BRCC offered 46 associate degree programs, 21 diploma programs, 30 certificate programs, and 3 articulated programs. All occupational programs are accredited by the appropriate accrediting agency.