Cleveland State Community College is a publicly-supported community college operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents and located in Cleveland, Tennessee. Like most of these institutions, emphasis is on associate's degree-level classes, but it also offers some third- and fourth-year college-level courses as well, through arrangements with other institutions. Cleveland State was authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1965 and held its first classes in 1967, with the move to the site of the current campus and permanent facilities occurring in 1968. Their athletic teams are known as the Cougars. Cleveland State Community college operates within the governance of the Tennessee Board of Regents. Approximately 3,500 credit students and 1,500 non-credit students enroll in Cleveland State Community College in a typical fall semester. The credit student population is split about evenly in the choice of transfer or career-technical programs. The average age of all students is 28 years. All persons are welcome at Cleveland State and the student population is non-racially identifiable.