Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College was founded July 1, 1971, as Southern West Virginia Community College, by joining the Marshall University branch campuses at Logan and Williamson. In 1995, the name changed to Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. Joanne Tomblin became president of the college in November 1999. She retired June 30, 2015, and on January 1, 2016, Dr. Robert E. Gunter became the new president. Since 2020, Pamela Alderman has served in that role.

The college is a freestanding community and technical college governed by an institutional governing board. It serves Boone, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyoming counties in West Virginia, and Martin and Pike counties in Kentucky by reciprocity agreement. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and has an open admission policy. The college is on a semester academic calendar and offers traditional classroom teaching as well as distance-learning programs.

The college's first permanent building was in Williamson and was dedicated in 1971. Sites in Mingo, Logan, and Wyoming counties were established in 1974. Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College has a presence in much of southern West Virginia. The central administration offices are located at the Earl Ray Tomblin Center, which is adjacent to the Logan campus. Other major facilities are the Williamson campus, the Wyoming-McDowell campus at Saulsville, and the Boone-Lincoln campus in Danville. Satellite sites are located at the Charles Yeager Technical Center in Hamlin, Harts High School in Harts, and the Raleigh-Boone Technology Center in Pettus. “Southern” is also a partner in the Erma C. Byrd Higher Education Center at Beaver. The two main libraries are the Williamson campus library and the Harless Library at the Logan campus.

The 2023-24 enrollment was 1,447.

Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College website