The Alamo Colleges have built partnerships with local community groups, such as the New Braunfels 4B Economic Development Board, to bring educational opportunities to those communities. The Central Texas Technology Center (CTTC) is the New Braunfels campus of the Alamo Colleges and is the only college in the city.
CTTC offers core academic courses and pre-professional courses for students looking to transfer to four-year universities, short-term workforce training, English as a second language, GED, bilingual education and occupational training. In fact, one of the college's premier programs is the Licensed Vocational Nursing certificate program, one of Texas' oldest and largest nursing programs. The Alamo Colleges also has five San Antonio locations, approximately 30 minutes from New Braunfels, along with a campus in Kerrville about 80 miles west.
Austin Community College (ACC) is comprised of eight campuses located in the city of Austin, about 50 miles north of New Braunfels. ACC also offers learning centers with a less comprehensive slate of courses, including one in San Marcos, a town just 20 miles north of New Braunfels.
ACC offers 235 degree and certificate programs in areas such as registered nursing, accounting, occupational therapy and welding technology. Each year, ACC enrolls around 44,000 students for credit. Along with traditional academic studies, the college offers continuing and adult education opportunities and a study abroad program.
Coastal Bend College serves south Texas with four campuses, two within 100 miles of New Braunfels. The Pleasanton campus, just 65 miles south, offers associate degree programs in areas such as law enforcement, general office management, computer information technology and accounting.
At the Beeville campus, just 100 miles from New Braunfels, 1,300 students choose from a variety of degree and certificate programs such as air-conditioning and refrigeration, child development, health information technology (formerly medical coding).
Students looking to finish an associate degree and core academic courses needed for transfer to a four-year institution can accomplish both at Coastal Bend.
Located in Victoria, about 113 miles from New Braunfels, Victoria Community College (VCC) offers 40 areas of study and a wide range of degree options. Associate Applied Science degree certificates are offered in areas such as business management, emergency medical services, respiratory care, nursing, electronics/instrumentation and physical therapy assistance. VCC also certifies students in technical skills from firefighting to web page design software.
Southwest Texas Junior College (SWTJC) serves three south Texas communities: Eagle Pass, Del Rio and Uvalde. Uvalde is the closest to New Braunfels, just over 110 miles. SWTJC offers degree and certificate programs in 24 fields. Among them are radiologic technology, homeland security, computer science, diesel technology, autobody repair technology and professional truck driving. The Uvalde campus has just over 2,000 enrolled students, as of 2011.
Central Texas College (CTC) offers a similar slate of degree and certificate programs as the other community colleges but caters to a different, "diverse student population," according to its website. CTC has six campuses, including the main campus in Killeen about 115 miles from New Braunfels. With the city's large military population at Fort Hood Army Base, CTC offers a wide range of options to help members of the military and their families achieve educational goals, including 100 worldwide locations for taking courses, a distance learning program and an online degree program. As of 2011, CTC serves over 50,000 students around the world.
Temple College is located in the central Texas town of Temple, 115 miles north of New Braunfels on Interstate 35. The main campus is located in two buildings in the downtown area; two other learning centers are found in Cameron to the east and Taylor to the south. Temple College main campus offers on-campus housing through college-owned apartment buildings. Temple College offers a number of associate degrees and certificate programs from dental hygiene to computer-aided design.