Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) is located outside of Richlands, Virginia, on the border of Tazewell and Russell counties, and is one of the 23 schools in the Virginia Community College System. SWCC was opened in 1968 to serve the residents of Buchanan, Russell and Tazewell counties. Dickenson County is also partially served along with Mountain Empire Community College. On average, over 4,000 students are served during the Fall and Spring semesters.