Southwestern Community College

Southwestern Community College  logo
#9543 / #2524
Global Influence / U.S. Influence
College in Sylva, North Carolina, U.S.

Southwestern Community College at a Glance

U.S. influence rank
#2524
Tuition and fees (2025–26)
$2,448
Graduation rate
53%
Undergraduates (fall 2024)
1,249

Reviewed by , Vice President and Academic Editor. Influence ranks come from our InfluenceRanking™ methodology; other figures come from federal data, with the year shown under each section. Report an error

Southwestern Community College Featured Rankings

About Southwestern Community College

According to Wikipedia, Southwestern Community College is a public community college in Sylva, North Carolina. It is part of the North Carolina Community College System. History The beginnings of Southwestern Community College can be traced back to April 1961 when a need for skilled textile workers brought representatives of the North Carolina state Trade and Industrial Education Department to Jackson County. The county responded, and began setting up training classes in local schools and in other county locations. The NC Board of Education provided needed equipment and logistics, and began hiring instructors, and an advisory panel was set up from local residents to oversee the project.

Southwestern Community College 's Online Degrees

Certificate in Accounting & Finance
Degree Concentrations
  • Bookkeeping
  • Tax Accounting
  • Payroll Accounting
  • Required Credits: 16
  • Format: Fully online
Certificate in Business Administration
Degree Concentrations
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Office Administration
  • Required Credits: 16
  • Format: Fully online
AAS in Associate Of Applied Science Accounting & Finance
  • Required Credits: 60-63
  • Format: Fully online
AAS in Associate Of Applied Science Business Administration
Degree Concentrations
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Office Administration
  • Required Credits: 65-67
  • Format: Fully online
AAS in Associate Of Applied Science Medical Office Administration
  • Required Credits: 66-67
  • Format: Fully online
Certificate in Information Technology
Degree Concentrations
  • Network Management - Operating System
  • Support & Services - User Support
  • Software & Web Development - Programming
  • Required Credits: 12
  • Format: Fully online
AAS in Associate Of Applied Science Information Technology
Degree Concentrations
  • Support & Services
  • Software & Web Development
  • Required Credits: 68
  • Format: Fully online
Certificate in Early Childhood Education
  • Required Credits: 13
  • Format: Fully online
Certificate in Early Childhood Administration
  • Required Credits: 16
  • Format: Fully online
Certificate in Early Childhood Preschool
  • Required Credits: 16
  • Format: Fully online
Certificate in Infant/Toddler Care
  • Required Credits: 16
  • Format: Fully online
AA in Associate In Arts College Transfer
  • Required Credits: 60
  • Format: Fully online
Certificate in Medical Assisting
  • Required Credits: 13
  • Format: Fully online
Certificate in Health Information Technology Health Informatics
  • Required Credits: 17
  • Format: Fully online
AAS in Associate Of Applied Science Cyber Crime Technology
  • Required Credits: 74
  • Format: Fully online

Southwestern Community College Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information

Retention RateGraduation Rate
75%53%

Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); acceptance rate for fall 2024; test scores for fall 2024; applications and enrollment for fall 2023; retention for students who started in fall 2023; graduation rate within six years for students who started in 2019.

How Much Does Southwestern Community College Cost To Attend?

Tuition and fees (in-state)
$2,448
Average Net Price by Family Income (2024–25)
IncomeAverage Net Cost
0 - 30K$11,394
30K - 48K$10,845
48K - 75K$13,393
75K - 110K$13,036
110K+$19,210

Source: U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and NCES); tuition and fees for 2025–26; net price for 2024–25, for first-time, full-time students receiving financial aid.

How Much Do Southwestern Community College Graduates Make?

Ten years after starting college, former Southwestern Community College students who received federal financial aid earn a median of $39,394 a year, and 83% of those not still in school are working.

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; students who started college in 2011–12 or 2012–13, measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars.

Southwestern Community College 's Demographics

Students enrolled at any time during the 2023–24 school year, including part-time and online students.

Student BodyUnder-Grads
2,8602,860

Source: National Center for Education Statistics; 12-month enrollment for 2023–24.

Where is Southwestern Community College ?

Southwestern Community College is located at 447 College Drive, Sylva, NC 28779.

How Safe is Southwestern Community College ?

Like every college that receives federal student aid, Southwestern Community College publishes an annual security report with its campus crime statistics and safety policies. Its figures can also be looked up in the U.S. Department of Education’s Campus Safety and Security database.

Relative to its enrollment, Southwestern Community College has a violent crime rate of less than 0.01% and a property crime rate of 0.05%. Sylva has a violent crime rate of 0.48% and a property (including theft) crime rate of 4.30%. Sources: campus: U.S. Department of Education Campus Safety and Security data, on-campus offenses in 2024 (violent: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property: burglary, motor vehicle theft and arson, which excludes ordinary theft); city: FBI Crime Data Explorer, offenses reported to the city police in 2024.

What Is Southwestern Community College Known For?

Southwestern Community College is known for its academic work in the following disciplines:

Southwestern Community College 's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered

Each rank compares how much Southwestern Community College 's faculty and alumni have shaped a field with other schools, using Wikipedia, Wikidata and scholarly citation databases such as Crossref and Semantic Scholar. World and U.S. ranks reflect modern influence; the historical rank counts influence across all time. How we rank influence

Social Work
#4079
World Rank
#4079
Historical Rank
#1572
USA Rank

Southwestern Community College ranks #1572 in the U.S. and #4079 worldwide for influence in Social Work.

social-work Degrees
Criminal Justice
#4411
World Rank
#4413
Historical Rank
#2196
USA Rank

Southwestern Community College ranks #2196 in the U.S. and #4411 worldwide for influence in Criminal Justice.

criminal-justice Degrees
Nursing
#6792
World Rank
#6792
Historical Rank
#2583
USA Rank

Southwestern Community College ranks #2583 in the U.S. and #6792 worldwide for influence in Nursing.

nursing Degrees
Education
#10745
World Rank
#10751
Historical Rank
#2919
USA Rank

Southwestern Community College ranks #2919 in the U.S. and #10745 worldwide for influence in Education.

education Degrees
Medical
#11376
World Rank
#11379
Historical Rank
#3187
USA Rank

Southwestern Community College ranks #3187 in the U.S. and #11376 worldwide for influence in Medical.

medicine Degrees
Computer Science
#11777
World Rank
#11785
Historical Rank
#3217
USA Rank

Southwestern Community College ranks #3217 in the U.S. and #11777 worldwide for influence in Computer Science.

computer-science Degrees