The State College of Victoria (SCV) was established under the provisions of the State College of Victoria Act 1972 (no. 8376), which was proclaimed on 30 June 1973. The SCV became the co-ordinating body for teacher education in Victoria.

The first teacher training colleges were established in the 1920s at Ballarat, Bendigo and Melbourne. In the 1950s and 1960s, further colleges were opened in Geelong, Toorak, Burwood, Coburg and Frankston. These colleges offered teacher education programs for general primary and secondary school teachers. Other colleges for training specialist secondary and technical teachers were also established.

The State College of Victoria was established as a federation of former Education Department Teacher Training Colleges, the Kindergarten Teachers College and the Catholic Education Colleges. Following its establishment, the teacher training institutions ceased to be under the direct control of the Education Department.

The primary role of SCV was to co-ordinate and develop teacher training in Victoria by:
* co-ordinating and fostering the development of the teachers college system through a Senate and Academic Board
* training teachers for the areas of pre-school, primary, secondary and technical education
* providing opportunities for upgrading of qualification of experienced teachers
* providing places for vocational courses closely associated with teacher education
* awarding degrees and diplomas

In 1978, the Committee of Inquiry into Post-Secondary Education (Partridge Committee) recommended that both the State College of Victoria and the Victoria Institute of Colleges (VA 571) be discontinued. The Victorian Post-Secondary Education Commission (VPSEC; VA721) was set up as a statutory authority under the provisions of the Post-Secondary Education Act 1978 (no. 9145). Following receipt of submissions in 1979 and discussions with interested bodies, VPSEC recommended to the Minister of Education that the separate administrations of the Victoria Institute of Colleges (VIC) and the State College of Victoria (SCV) be discontinued. Under the provisions of the Post-Secondary Education (Amendment) Act 1980 (No. 9424), VIC and SCV were abolished and their functions and assets were transferred to VPSEC.