Facilities

Martin Campus

Shelton State Community College is part of a state system of public colleges. This system originated in the Alabama Trade School and Junior College Authority Act enacted by the state legislature in May 1963. The governing board for the institutions within this system is the Alabama State Board of Education (ASBE) and the Chancellor, Alabama Community College System, Department of Postsecondary Education, is the chief executive officer of the system.

Shelton State Community College was established by resolution of the ASBE on January 1, 1979. That resolution combined two existing institutions: Shelton State Technical College, established in 1952, and the Tuscaloosa branch campus of Brewer State Junior College, an institution whose main campus was located in Fayette, Alabama. The Tuscaloosa branch campus of Brewer State had been in operation since 1972.

C. A. Fredd Campus

 In 1994, Shelton State Community College consolidated with C. A. Fredd State Technical College, another public two year college located in Tuscaloosa. The new institution created by the consolidation retained the name of Shelton State Community College, and the president of Shelton State was named president of the consolidated institution. The institution now called Shelton State Community College, C. A. Fredd Campus, was created by the state legislature in 1963 as Tuscaloosa State Trade School. In 1974, the institution became Tuscaloosa State Technical College and was authorized by the ASBE to grant the associate degree.

In 1976, the college name was changed to C. A. Fredd State Technical College to honor the first president of the institution. C. A. Fredd State Technical College was recognized as one of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Shelton State Community College maintains that identity and continues the specific HBCU mission of promoting educational access and opportunity for all students in a culturally diverse community.

HBCU Status

Historically Black Colleges and Universities are a source of accomplishment and great pride for the African American community as well as the entire nation.  The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as:  “…any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.”  HBCUs offer all students, regardless of race, an opportunity to develop their skills and talents.  These institutions train young people who go on to serve domestically and internationally in the professions, as entrepreneurs, and in the public and private sectors.

Sandra Hall Ray Fine Arts Center

The Sandra Hall Ray Fine Arts Center honors one of Tuscaloosa’s most outstanding cultural, educational, and business leaders. This Center is home to the Shelton State Community College Fine Arts Division, Theatre Tuscaloosa, and The Alabama Stage and Screen Hall of Fame. The Hall Ray Fine Arts Center facilities include the Bean Brown Theatre; the Alabama Power Recital Hall; the Bell South and National Bank of Commerce Galleries; Painting, Drawing, and Photography Studios; and a Dance Studio.

The Shelton State Community College Music Department with choral and instrumental rehearsal rooms, faculty studios, an electronic keyboard classroom, and student practice rooms is also located in the Sandra Hall Ray Fine Arts Center. The Sandra Hall Ray Fine Arts Center at Shelton State Community College is unique among community colleges in Alabama and places Shelton State among the elite arts education institutions in the southeast.

Shelton State Community College Libraries 

Shelton State Community College maintains two campus libraries to serve all students, regardless of the program in which they are enrolled. The Brooks-Cork Library, located on the Martin Campus, houses 55,000 books, as well as 200 e-books, and carries 350 current periodical subscriptions. Its holdings provide support for both academic and technical areas of study. The Lewis Library, located on the C.A. Fredd Campus, houses approximately 1,500 books to support the programs housed on that campus. In addition, the Lewis Library provides a small, basic reference collection and carries several current periodical subscriptions. Students may access the library’s catalog online through the College Web site, www.sheltonstate.edu.

Current information is available on both campuses in print and electronic formats. Current subscriptions, as well as computer databases, provide this information for students in a number of general and specific subject areas. Audiovisuals for individual and class use are also available. Students are encouraged to use the Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) from any computer on campus. Home access to the AVL is available at no cost to anyone, and passwords are no longer required of Alabama residents.

Library hours vary according to campus and are indicated below.  The libraries are not open when the College is closed (as for holidays). Special hours or changes in the regular schedule are posted as necessary.  

Students who fail to return borrowed materials should be aware of the following College policies:

1. Overdue fines for books and vertical file materials are charged at a rate of 10 cents per day to a maximum of $8.00 and $2.00, respectively.

2. Overdue fines for items on Reserve are charged at 50 cents per hour to a maximum of $8.00 per item.

3. Replacement costs for lost or damaged items are $35.00 per book; $10.00 per Vertical File item; $35.00 per Reserve item; and $50.00 per audiovisual item.

4. Four weeks past the due date, any unreturned item or any unpaid fine is considered a debt to the College. Students will not be given approval for graduation applications until the debts are cleared by the Shelton State Libraries.

The University of Alabama Libraries and the Stillman College Library are available to all students upon presentation of a current Shelton State Community College library card and a Shelton i.d.

Students who wish to request the purchase of library materials may leave a written request at the circulation desk on either campus or may email the library (see library Web page to make the request). Students and other library users are expected to abide by College policies regarding behavior and student conduct including posted guidelines for use of electronic resources. All library procedures and expectations are posted on the library’s Web site.

All library users should be prepared to show current identification in the libraries upon request.  Restrictions apply for printing privileges.