Tidewater Community College is a two-year higher education institution in South Hampton Roads with campuses in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach — and serving approximately 46,000 students. The school is known locally by its abbreviation, TCC. The school was founded in 1968 with 619 students with a gift by local philanthropist Fred W. Beasley. It is the second-largest community college in the Virginia Community College System and the 37th largest in the United States. The school offers a variety of vocational and transfer-oriented degrees and certificates for prospective students, including a nursing program, truck driver training and culinary arts degrees — and serves as the largest higher education school in Southeastern Virginia. Facilities include the Fred W. Beazley Portsmouth Campus, The Advanced Technology Center in partnership with the City of Virginia Beach and Virginia Beach City Public Schools, the 70,000 sf Science Building (Virginia Beach Campus), the Regional Automotive Center, three campus student centers and a planned fourth.