The Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton is one of 24 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology and 37 total institutions in the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) system that are located across the state, serving the citizens of Tennessee. The TBR and the Board of Trustees of the University of Tennessee System are coordinated by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC).

THEC was created by the General Assembly in 1967 to achieve coordination and unity in the programs of public higher education in Tennessee. The TBR system was created by legislation enacted by the 1963 General Assembly of Tennessee, Chapter 229 of House Bill 633. Chapter 181, Senate Bill 746-House Bill 697, of the Public Act of 1983 transferred the governance of the state technical institutes and area vocational-technical schools from the State Board of Education to the Tennessee Board of Regents. The transfer became effective on July 1, 1983. By action of the Tennessee Legislature in 1994, the school name changed from State Area Vocational Technical School to Tennessee Technology Center. In 2013, the Legislature unanimously approved changing the name of the state’s technology centers to the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.

The Tennessee Board of Regents, the governing body for Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton, underwent a major shift in 2017 because of the FOCUS Act of 2016 and the appointment of a new Chancellor, Dr. Flora Tydings. The FOCUS Act seeks to ensure the state’s community Colleges and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology are organized, supported, and empowered in efforts to increase the percentage of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential. Largely this involved the development of local governing boards for each of the six universities, thus allowing TBR a greater focus on the 13 community Colleges and 24 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology. Additional TBR efforts under the leadership of Dr. Tydings included the retitling of the chief administrative officers of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology from Director to President, the movement towards all 37 campuses in the TBR system operating with shared services, and the restructuring of the TBR organization uniting the community and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology through common offices and services.

Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton

Important Milestones:

• October 1, 2015, Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton observed its 50th anniversary of operation.

• 2004, the college received the Exceptional Training Provider Award from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for having the highest student job placement rate among 152 public and private postsecondary Workforce Investment Act training facilities in the state of Tennessee.

• August 20, 2012, construction of three new buildings and renovation of a fourth building began. The consolidated campus, completed in 2014, provides 95,000 square feet of training space to allow most training programs to be taught at one location. It replaced the 30,000-square-foot training facility, the original site located at the Herman Robinson Campus, 1500 Arney Street, in Elizabethton.

• November 6, 2013, the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton was presented a plaque in recognition of 40 years of accreditation with the Council on Occupational Education and Commitment to Quality and Integrity in Career and Technical Education.

• August 1, 2014, elected and appointed federal, state and local government officials and educators attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the $16-million campus consolidation project.

• October 8, 2014, state and local government officials joined business and industry executives and representatives to announce a Snap-On, Trane, and NC3 strategic partnership with Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Elizabethton. National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) develops, implement and sustain industry-recognized portable certifications built on national skill sets.

• In 2015, Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton became a Trane NC3 Certification Training Center. Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton will now award Trane NC3 Certifications related to Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration.

• August 14, 2015, Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton became the first of 27 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology to offer Mopar Level 1 Technician Certification to graduates of automotive and diesel programs leading to possible employment with area Chrysler dealers and others throughout the United States. Tennessee College of Applied Technology -Elizabethton has also developed a training partnership with Triad Freightliner of Tennessee.

• In 2015, the Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology Program at Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton received the 2015 National Technical Program of the Year Award from the American Technical Education Association.

• September 1, 2015, Tennessee Promise and Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton Reconnect scholarships began. Tennessee Promise for high school seniors and Tennessee Reconnect for adults offers two years of free tuition at Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton after other applicable financial aid has been applied.

*Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton has a headcount enrollment of approximately 1,000 students, with an average of 32 years of age, who commute to classes daily from their residence in Carter, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington Counties.

At Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton, the program completion rate, job placement rate, and licensure pass rate on the Tennessee Board of Nursing exam have averaged 90 percent for the past several years.

In 2018, training returned at 1500 Arney Street in Welding and Cosmetology, followed by Criminal Justice and Kubota in 2019 and Advanced Manufacturing Technology in 2020.

Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton employs 60 full-time and part-time faculty and staff. Its annual operating budget of $5.3 million generates $11 million to the local economy. The tuition to attend Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton is approximately $3,843 for 12 months of training. Financial assistance, up to $7,775 per year, is available from the Tennessee Lottery Wilder-Naifeh Scholarship and Federal Pell Grant to students who qualify.

Building Construction Technology began in January of 2022 at the Kingsport Extension Campus (Old Sullivan North High School).  Plans are well underway to add Automotive, Diesel, Collision Repair, and eventually, Graphic Design to the programs offered at the location to accompany BCT and Practical Nursing.

 Boones Creek Extension Campus is a former elementary school facility that has been donated to the State of Tennessee and is located in Washington County.  Renovation and new construction plans are well underway, and eventual programs planned are Cosmetology, Practical Nursing, Industrial Electricity, Building Construction Technology, Heavy Equipment Operator, Automotive, and Diesel Equipment Technology.

Special Industry training is an additional opportunity provided to businesses and industry to assist with current workforce training and skill development.

Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton has an $8 million operating budget. There were 647 students enrolled in the 2023 spring trimester.

Extension Campuses

Extension campuses are located at 1500 Arney Street, Elizabethton, TN; at the TCAT Elizabethton Instructional Service Center, 2533 N John B Dennis Hwy, Kingsport, TN; and at the Mountain City Extension Campus Johnson County High School, 290 Fairground Lane, Mountain City, TN.

(School operation began in 1965)

Tommy Neece, 1965-1976

Lonnie Hyder, 1976-1985

Kelly Yates, 1986-1997

Dr.Bruce Blanding, 1996-1999

Jerry Patton, 2000-2009

Dean Blevins, 2009-2022

David Hicks, 2022-present