About

More Than 90 Years of Educational Excellence

The authorization to establish Hill College was issued in 1921 by the Attorney General of the State of Texas under the name of Hillsboro Junior College. The college first enrolled students in September of 1923. At that time, there were only two public junior colleges in the state, and Hillsboro Junior College became the first municipal junior college to be chartered in Texas.

Hillsboro Junior College operated continuously until July of 1950 when it closed after an attempt to establish a county-wide college system failed. The college lay dormant for eleven years during which time the charter was protected from forfeiture through the efforts of the late Senator Crawford Martin of Hillsboro.

On March 3, 1962, through the efforts of the media, local civic groups, and many others, a bond issue was passed for the purpose of building a new campus. The college opened for business in September of 1962 under a new name, Hill Junior College. The new college district was expanded by the voluntary annexation of five Hill County school districts other than the original Hillsboro school district. The district now included Hillsboro, Abbott, Bynum, Covington, Itasca, and Whitney.

In 1974, the college opened an extension center in Cleburne, Texas, located in Johnson County. The Johnson County Campus now includes six buildings on 32 acres of land and has more than 1,000 students enrolled in both day and night classes. In 1997 and 1998, the citizens of Alvarado, Cleburne, Godley, Grandview, Joshua, Keene, Rio Vista, and Venus approved a local maintenance and operation tax for the purpose of supporting the campus of Hill College in Johnson County.

The college dropped “junior” from its name in 1985 and became Hill College.

Higher education came to Burleson, Texas, on December 19, 2005, when representatives from Hill College, Texas Wesleyan University and the City of Burleson hosted a ceremonial lease signing, creating the Higher Education Center. Burleson Mayor Ken Shetter had a vision of bringing higher education to the city and played a key role in accomplishing this by offering Hill College and Texas Wesleyan University the opportunity to hold classes in a city-owned facility on Renfro Street. Hill College-Burleson opened the doors in spring of 2006, with 87 students. Today, the Center serves approximately 400 students per semester, offering both day and evening classes.

An agreement signed with Snap-On Tools in 2010 set the stage for others to come.  Lincoln Electric announced in 2012 that it would partner with the Hill welding program in both Hillsboro and Cleburne, and Trane Heating and Air Conditioning signed an agreement in February 2014.

The agreement signed with Trane is the first such partnership in Texas, and Trane is committed to establishing a total of ten in this state.The Snap-On and Trane partnerships fall under the auspices of the National Coalition of Certification Centers, or NC3, which offers certifications across the transportation, aviation and energy sectors. Snap-On falls under transportation and Trane under energy. Aviation mechanics and sheet metal are possible future program opportunities for Hill College.

For a complete history of Hill College, click here.

SACS Accreditation

Hill College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate degrees.

Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Hill College.