[2] The college serves ten predominantly rural East Tennessee counties,[3] located in the area of the Clinch and Great Smoky Mountains with five campuses totaling approximately 6,200 degree-seeking, commuting students.

[5] In 1957, the Pierce-Albright Report was presented to the Tennessee legislature, detailing situations of higher education in the state.

It showed many citizens of the state of Tennessee to be without sufficient access to colleges and universities, and led to the allocation of $200,000 in 1963 to implement the recommendations of the report.

[2] In 2017, a hiking-mountain biking trail system would be constructed at the main campus at a natural area surrounding the college's public safety complex.

In late 2020, Walters State opened a campus in Cocke County, at the Tanner Building in Newport.