Minnesota West Community and Technical College is a community

Community college

A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

 and technical college with five campuses in southwestern Minnesota, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

: Canby

Canby, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there are 1,903 people, 842 households, and 453 families residing in the city. The population density is 876.5 people per square mile . There are 918 housing units at an average density of 422.8 per square mile...

, Granite Falls

Granite Falls, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,070 people, 1,344 households, and 806 families residing in the city. The population density was 890.5 people per square mile . There were 1,472 housing units at an average density of 427.0 per square mile...

, Jackson

Jackson, Minnesota

Jackson is a city in Jackson County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,299 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County.-Geography:...

, Pipestone

Pipestone, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,280 people, 1,900 households, and 1,138 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,090.8 people per square mile . There were 2,097 housing units at an average density of 534.4 per square mile...

 and Worthington

Worthington, Minnesota

Worthington is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 12,764 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nobles County.The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Chicago, St...

 and four learning centers in Fairmont

Fairmont, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,889 people and 2,962 families residing in the city. The population density was 747.5 people per square mile . There were 5,036 housing units at an average density of 345.7 per square mile...

, Luverne

Luverne, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,617 people, 1,968 households, and 1,247 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,356.1 people per square mile . There were 2,161 housing units at an average density of 634.7 per square mile...

, Marshall

Marshall, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,735 people, 4,914 households, and 2,914 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,537.0 people per square mile . There were 5,182 housing units at an average density of 625.4 per square mile...

 and Redwood Falls

Redwood Falls, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,459 people, 2,266 households, and 1,389 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,167.1 people per square mile . There were 2,377 housing units at an average density of 508.2 per square mile...

. Students have the opportunity to earn an Associate Degree, Diploma

Diploma

A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...

, or Certificate in more than 60 disciplines.

The college was established on January 1, 1997, by the merging of Worthington Community College and Southwestern Technical College (itself a merger of four separate local vocational school

Vocational school

A vocational school , providing vocational education, is a school in which students are taught the skills needed to perform a particular job...

s).

Minnesota West's individual campuses have a history dating back 40 years. The campuses were originally under the jurisdiction of the local school district and offered programs that served the local and regional economy. On July 1, 1985 the four then area technical institutes at Canby, Granite Falls, Jackson, and Pipestone were officially merged to form Southwestern Technical Institute. The Minnesota State Legislature renamed all technical institutes, technical colleges on July 1, 1989. Southwestern Technical College was a member institution of the former Minnesota Technical College System and on July 1, 1995 became one of 32 member institutions of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

The former Worthington Community College was established in 1936 as an institution of higher education by and under the jurisdiction of the local school district to meet the post secondary education needs of the community and surrounding area. The first campus was located in the Worthington High School and in 1966 the college moved to its current, 76 acres (30.8 ha) campus located to the north of Lake Okabena. In 1964, Worthington Junior College was transferred to the State Junior College Board and was named Worthington State Junior College. In 1973 the name was changed to Worthington Community College and the college was placed under the jurisdiction of the Minnesota Community College System. On July 1, 1995 Worthington Community College became a member institution of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.