Trinity Valley Community College - A great place to start your future

Trinity Valley Community College has come a long way since classes first began in borrowed space during the fall of 1946.

The college now serves more than 6,500 students at campuses in Athens, Palestine, Terrell and Kaufman.

Today, students don’t even need to be in the classroom to complete coursework. Many are opting to enroll in Internet-based classes, and TVCC has become a leading provider of classes through the Virtual College of Texas. In addition, classrooms equipped for videoconferencing allow the college to have classes simultaneously on two different campuses or even at area high schools and universities.

 TVCC instructors have developed numerous hybrid courses – classes where a student completes part of the workload online and attends class for the other part of the course. Hybrid classes combine the advantages of face-to-face interaction with the convenience of the Internet.

The technology age hasn’t eliminated the need for desks and chairs, however. Over the past 15 years, the institution has constructed a new academic building, residence hall, cafeteria, bookstore and learning resource center at the Athens campus and a learning resource center at the Terrell campus.

TVCC is dedicated to improving the quality of education and the richness of campus life for all of its students. To accomplish that goal, many changes have been made in the recent past. From additional programs – such as the electronic media courses now offered in Athens – to new activities such as the Lady Cardinals softball program, TVCC is working to meet all of the needs of its students.

In addition to two-year degrees in a variety of fields of study, TVCC offers a range of academic and occupational programs for students who want to complete two years of college before transferring to a university. TVCC is also ideal for those who need one or two years of training before beginning a career in a trade such as cosmetology, horticulture or ranch management.

TVCC also offers non-credit continuing education classes that range from “fun” courses such as ceramics and cake decorating to career-oriented classes designed to help students become proficient in areas such as computer literacy, real estate and forklift operation.

The college’s Adult Education Department offers adult students special, and sometimes free, services to help them gain job skills or knowledge needed to help them get a college education.

The Health Science Center in Kaufman houses many of the institution’s health occupations programs, which include Associate Degree Nursing, Vocational Nursing, Surgical Technology, Emergency Medical Technician, and Patient Care Technology. The campus is also a distance education site for the University of Texas at Arlington’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

There’s also plenty of time for fun at TVCC. The Student Activities Department calendar is filled with special events, tournaments and student trips.

Phi Theta Kappa (Iota Alpha chapter) – TVCC’s branch of the international honor society – has won numerous top awards at the international conference over the last eight years. The chapter was ranked third out of 1,200 chapters worldwide in 2004. TVCC students have won the Phi Theta Kappa STAR Scholarships and have placed on USA Today’s Academic All-USA team and on the Academic All-State team.

TVCC is also the home of champion athletic teams. The Lady Cardinals basketball team has won five national championships with runs of nine consecutive conference titles, seven consecutive regional titles, and six consecutive NJCAA title games since 1991.

The Cardinal men’s basketball team holds 12 conference championships, has been a regional finalist nine times and has competed in the national tournament three times.

The Cardinal Cheerleaders were the first junior college squad to compete and win in the National Cheerleaders Association national finals. They have won nine NCA national championships – including back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002 – and participated in the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics.

The Cardinal Regiment and Wildcard Swing Orchestra routinely produce All-State performers and compete in various state festivals. In the past few years, the Regiment band has perform in Branson, Missouri;  Dallas, Texas; the State Fair of Texas; New York and California. The swing orchestra traveled to Washington D.C. with the Cardinal Choir in 2006. In 2007, the Cardinal Regiment joined the Cardettes in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland.

The Choir has performed at the Astrodome, various state festivals, Washington D.C. and Walt Disney World. Encore was featured in performances in and around San Francisco, California and Washington D.C., and in 2008 they performed in several venues in England.

The Cardinal football team has won two national championships and 18 conference championships, has made 17 bowl appearances and holds 20 conference records (SWJCFC and TJCFC). Six former Cardinals are playing this season on NFL teams.

The Cardettes celebrated 45 years of entertaining Cardinal fans in 2005. They have traveled extensively including trips to Missouri, New York, California, Florida, Switzerland and Moscow. In 2007, they traveled to Ireland along with the Cardinal Regiment.

For more information about TVCC, contact the college at 903-675-6200 or 1-866-TVCC-YES.