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 president. The current interim president is Elizabeth A. Manuel.

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 had 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. Its other major facilities are the Williamson campus and the Charles Yeager Technical Center in Hamlin. It previously offered courses at its Wyoming-McDowell campus at Saulsville, a Boone-Lincoln campus in Danville, and at satellite sites in Harts and 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.

On April 7, 2025, the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College (CTC) Education took over the school's Board of Governor's, placed President Pamela Alderman on administration leave, and appointed West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Corley Dennison. The Council for CTC Education cited numerous irregularities and lack of responsiveness from the administration. It is the first in state history the council has taken over the school

The school's most recent enrollment numbers were 1,482.

Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College website