The Tennessee College of Applied Technology Hartsville 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 Hartsville State Area Vocational Technical School to Tennessee Technology Center at Hartsville. 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 Hartsville, 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.

Hartsville Main Campus

Classes began in June 1965 and have been operating continuously. The College is located one mile east of Hartsville on Highway 25. Its setting is a beautiful 20-acre valley near the historic Cumberland River and Old Hickory Lake on Historic Avery Trace. Approximately 12,000sf of new and renovated space will expand capacity in January 2021.
 

Branch Campus

Tennessee College of Applied Technology Wilson County Campus began operating under the administration of Tennessee College of Applied Technology Hartsville in the fall of 2014; classes began in January 2015. Today the campus has eight program offerings and plans for future offerings in the heart of Lebanon on Tennessee Blvd.

Tennessee College of Applied Technology Hartsville –Tri-County Extension Campus

Tri-County Extension Campus began operating under the administration of Tennessee College of Applied Technology Hartsville in the fall of 2008. The campus offers seven dually enrolled program offerings providing early post-secondary opportunities for students from Jackson and Macon Counties.