TYCA History

When community colleges experienced their tremendous growth in the middle of the twentieth century, NCTE, recognizing the need for professional development for the English faculty of these unique colleges, established an informal network of regional associations of two-year college English faculty.  By the end of the twentieth century, the regional two-year college English associations, most of which were now well-established, recognized that they needed a stronger national voice to impact the academy as a whole.  NCTE established the Two-Year College English Association within NCTE, a national coordinating body for the seven regional Two-Year College English Associations.  The national TYCA Executive Committee addresses professional development issues with programs at NCTE national conventions and helps shape English studies policies for the lower division.  In 2001, the National Council of Teachers of English voted to place the chair of National TYCA on its central governing board, ensuring that the voice of two-year college English faculty would be present in discussions of English language arts professional concerns. 

National TYCA provides a variety of resources to support teachers, develops strategies to improve the profession, provides a forum for faculty collaboration, and advocates on behalf of all who teach English to first and second year college students.  All members of National TYCA are eligible to vote for national officers who are joined by elected representatives from each of the TYCA Regions for the Executive Committee.  Through the College Forum of NCTE, National TYCA works to articulate higher education studies issues with the other higher education groups within NCTE (CCCC, College Section, and CEE).