Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College

Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College

A-B Tech
A-B Tech Main Campus
Active	1959–Present
President	Dr. Dennis King
Students	24,123 (2014-15 academic year)
Location	Asheville, North Carolina, United States
Colors	Burgundy and gold
Website	www.abtech.edu

Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College is a public two-year community college established in 1959 in Asheville, North Carolina. The college is one of the oldest in the North Carolina Community College System that serves Buncombe and Madison counties, although students from anywhere may enroll. As of the 2014-15 school year, the curriculum enrollment was 10,070 and continuing education enrollment was 14,053 students. These figures make the school one of the largest in the North Carolina system. A-B Tech offers more than 120 degrees, diplomas, and certificates.

Accreditation programs recognizing A-B Tech include the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the North Carolina Board of Nursing, the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, the Joint Review Committee on Education Radiologic Technology, the American Dental Association, the Commission on Dental Accreditation, and the Accreditation Review Committee on Education in Surgical Technology.

Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College was originally funded by a bond election. The institution was established on April 3, 1958 and began serving students September 1, 1959 as the Asheville-Buncombe Industrial Education Center.

Following legislation creating the North Carolina System of Community Colleges, enacted in 1963 by the General Assembly, the name was changed on January 9, 1964 to Asheville-Buncombe Technical Institute. This legislation enabled the college to confer the Associate in Applied Science degree for the first time at graduation ceremonies in August 1964.

The Board of Trustees approved a third name change to Asheville-Buncombe Technical College on August 6, 1979. A final name change occurred November 2, 1987 when the Board of Trustees approved Asheville–Buncombe Technical Community College, an action that became official when endorsed by the Buncombe County Commissioners on November 3, 1987.