The college opened in 1967 and was named after John Tyler, the tenth president of the United States and a Virginian.

In July 2021, the Virginia State Board of Community Colleges renamed local institutions formerly named for enslavers or segregationists.

Instead of venerating Tyler, an enslaver and Confederate, the name "celebrates the heart and energy of [the] institution".

The institution also serves 15,000 non-credit students and more than 1,000 companies and government agencies annually through the Community College Workforce Alliance.

In July 2010, it received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification for its Midlothian Campus Science Building.