Community College

Columbia State is a comprehensive community college serving southern Middle Tennessee dedicated to nurturing success and positively changing lives through teaching, learning and service. Established in 1966 as Tennessee’s first community college, Columbia State has grown to five campuses including Columbia, Williamson, Lawrence, Lewisburg and Clifton. The college was recognized as a finalist in the 2018 Awards of Excellence for Advancing Diversity, Outstanding College/Corporate Partnership and Student Success by the American Association of Community Colleges.

Northeast State Community College is a public comprehensive community college with technical education and college transfer programs. The school strives to tailor its programs and services to meet the special needs of a diverse student body numbering. Northeast State offers associate degrees, which can be transferred to a number of local and regional four-year colleges and universities.

Volunteer State Community College is located in Gallatin, Tennessee, which is 30 miles northeast of Nashville. Popularly known as Vol State, the college was founded in 1971. A 100-acre tract of land on Nashville Pike was chosen for the new campus. The property was deeded to the State on December 4, 1969. The new college was named Volunteer State Community College, and this was approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents on July 2, 1970. Groundbreaking ceremonies for the first four buildings were held on November 5, 1970.