| Colleges And Universities |  |
 In addition to its excellent public and private schools, Western North Carolina also offers a diverse selection of universities, colleges and technical schools that strengthen the area’s skilled workforce. Furthermore, businesses in the area promote hands-on learning through co-ops and internships with schools in the region.Named by U.S. News and World Report as the fourth-best public liberal arts school in the nation in 2004, the University of North Carolina at Asheville (www.unca.edu) has been ranked among the top five for the past four years. UNC-Asheville offers its students small class sizes of about 20, a low student-faculty ratio and service learning opportunities to benefit themselves and the surrounding community. With an enrollment of about 3,300, UNC-Asheville is affiliated with the NCAA Division I sports in addition to 65 clubs and organizations that involve outdoor recreation, student government, honor and service, art, dramatic and musical performance, sororities and fraternities, student publications and intramural sports. Established in 1959, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (www.abtech.edu) is a public, two-year school serving 8,800 in curriculum programs and 17,200 students total including extension programs. Asheville-Buncombe Tech offers 49 different curriculum programs, 43 degrees, 13 diplomas and 36 certificates in its five different divisions: Allied Health and Public Service Education, Arts and Sciences, Business and Hospitality Education, Continuing Education and Engineering and Applied Technology. In 1965, Haywood Industrial Education Center opened with one curriculum program and 15 students. Today it is known as Haywood Community College (www.haywood.edu), an affiliate of the North Carolina Community College System. Haywood Community College is located on a beautiful 83-acre campus in Clyde that includes an arboretum and teaching forest. With 42 curriculum programs, the school now serves about 2,600 students. Additionally, Haywood offers programs in continuing education including adult basic education, GED preparation, occupational courses and community service programs. Warren Wilson College has a motto: “We’re not for everyone ... but then, maybe you’re not everyone.” With a unique approach to post-secondary education, Warren Wilson College (www.warren-wilson.edu) provides an on-campus work program where students and supervisors work together to operate the college, learn work values and acquire problem-solving skills. Each student must work 15 hours per week to meet the requirement. Ninety percent of its 784 students live on campus and come from 45 different states across the nation and 16 countries. Warren Wilson offers 46 majors and 26 minors; most of its students seek degrees in Environmental Science, Engineering and Outdoor Leadership. In 2004, U.S. News and World Report recognized Warren Wilson as one of the top 15 schools in two different programs, and the Princeton Review named it as one of the Best 345 Colleges. Founded in 1856, Mars Hill College (www.mhc.com) is the oldest educational institution in Western North Carolina and is affiliated with the North Carolina Baptist Convention. Offering degrees in 30 different majors and 33 minors, Mars Hill enrolls about 1,275 students and boasts of a student-teacher ratio of 16:1. In addition to its 18 sports teams participating in NCAA Division II, Mars Hill also offers 43 clubs and organizations including government, music, theater and social clubs. With an enrollment of 2,075 students, Blue Ridge Community College (www.blueridge.edu) was established in 1969 to serve the educational needs of Henderson and Transylvania counties. Blue Ridge Community College is located on a 140-acre campus in Flat Rock about two miles southeast of Hendersonville. The school also operates an extension center, Transylvania Center in Brevard. Providing opportunities for students to attain associates degrees, diplomas and certificates, Blue Ridge Community College also offers continuing education, distance-learning and cooperative education courses. Since it opened in 1964, Southwestern Community College (www.southwest.cc.nc.us) in Sylva has awarded more than 7,000 degrees, diplomas and certificates to its students. The school offers 40 degree, certificate and diploma programs including GED preparation and options to transfer to a four-year institution. Founded by the Presbyterian Church in Black Mountain, Montreat College (www.montreat.edu) opened in 1916 with eight students. Originally called the Mountain Retreat Association, the school centered on encouraging Christian work. Since then, Montreat has evolved into a liberal arts college and increased its enrollment to more than 1,000 students. Montreat also has other campuses in Asheville, Black Mountain and Charlotte and added the Master of Business Administration degree to its program in 1998. Created by merging Rutherford and Weaver colleges in 1934, Brevard College’s (www.brevard.edu) roots go back to 1853. Affiliated with the Methodist church, Brevard College is a four-year, private college spread over a 120-acre campus. The school enrolls about 660 students and offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in 14 different majors and pre-professional degrees in law, dentistry, medicine and veterinary science. Founded in 1865, Shaw University (www.shawuniversity.edu) is the oldest historically black college in the South. A private college affiliated with the Baptist Church, Shaw University is centered in Raleigh but operates one of its Centers for Alternative Programs of Education (CAPE) in Asheville. Shaw offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in Business Management, Public Administration, Social Science, Criminal Justice, Religion and Philosophy, and Liberal Studies as well as associate’s degrees in Business Management and Criminal Justice. Shaw’s curriculum involves independent study, seminars, life experiences and classes during the day, evening and weekends to accommodate working students. Centered on the Bible as the focus of studies, Trinity Baptist Bible College in Asheville (www.tbbc.edu) offers a four-year Bachelor of Theology for preachers, pastors, missionaries and evangelists. Trinity also offers a three-year General Diploma of Theology and a one-year Christian Worker’s Diploma. Located in Cullowhee, Western Carolina University (www.wcu.edu) enrolls 7,300 students in more than 120 majors and 30 graduate programs. Western Carolina was the first public university in the state to require students to have a personal computer. The school has recently built a $30 million fine arts center, part of a $130 million construction project that is still in progress. More than 150 clubs and organizations are available for students including service clubs, career clubs, student government, performing arts, honor societies, more than 20 fraternities and sororities and 15 varsity sports. Western Carolina also features Hunter Library, the largest in Western North Carolina. South College – Asheville (www.southcollegenc.com) is a private, two-year school offering associate of applied science degrees in accounting, business administration, paralegal studies, office technology, medical assisting and network technology. Certificate programs and general education courses are also offered at South College. PHOTO COURTESY OF BLAKE MADDEN College and Universities Haywood Community College Warren Wilson College Mars Hill College Montreat College Blue Ridge Community College Southwestern Community College Western Carolina University Shaw University Education Center Trinity Baptist Bible College South College Brevard College |
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