Authorized by the General Assembly in 1962, the University of Kentucky Community College System was formed in 1964. Today the System includes thirteen colleges around the state serving over 46,000 students.

Southeast Community College is a community and cultural center for Kentucky's Bell, Harlan, and Letcher counties. The UK Southeast Center opened in 1960 and in 1964, it joined the UK Community College System. Enrollment at SECC has more than tripled during the last decade -- from 790 students in 1983 to 2,769 in 1994. In 1998-99, SECC became part of the Kentucky Community and Technical System (KCTCS).

Today SECC has merged Southeast Community College with Cumberland Valley Technical College and maintains five campuses -- at Middlesboro and Pineville in Bell County, at Cumberland and Harlan in Harlan County, and at Whitesburg in Letcher County. The Whitesburg campus was first opened in 1990 through community efforts to begin a college in Letcher County. The campus' first semester enrollment was 385. A second building for Science and Allied Health Classes was completed and opened for classes in 1997. Funding for a third academic/technical building of classrooms and faculty offices has been secured and construction should begin in 2002.

Go to SECC's Gateway