News

To Support Last-Dollar Scholarships for Minority and Underserved Students at Tennessee’s 13 Community Colleges

The Tennessee Board of Regents today appointed Dr. Orinthia T. Montague as the next president of Volunteer State Community College and Dr. Melody Edmonds as the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology McMinnville, both effective Sept. 1.

The committee will hold its orientation session and public forum Aug. 18

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold a special called meeting July 27 to consider the appointments of the next presidents of Volunteer State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at McMinnville.

Four finalists have been selected for the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at McMinnville. All four will participate in campus interviews and public forums on the McMinnville campus July 15, the next step in the presidential search.

The finalists are:

Nashville State Community College and Southwest Tennessee Community College have earned certification as Veterans Education Transition Support (VETS) Campuses, designating their supportive environment and services to help veterans successfully transition from military service to college.

Career and technical education students from across Tennessee demonstrated excellence and brought home medals and honors at the 2021 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference last week.

The annual SkillsUSA conference and its national championship competitions showcased the nation’s best career and technical education (CTE) students, who competed in 106different trade, technical and leadership events. The 2021 SkillsUSA Championships were held virtually due to pandemic-related travel restrictions.

The Tennessee Board of Regents today approved tuition, fees and preliminary budgets for the 2021-22 academic year at the state’s community and technical colleges, updates to the systemwide strategic plan, and new training programs at the technical colleges.

A Tennessee Board of Regents Search Advisory Committee has selected three finalists for the next president of Volunteer State Community College. They will participate in campus visits – including forums with campus groups and the public – June 22, 23 and 24, the next step in the selection process.

The finalists are:

At its quarterly meeting June 17-18, the Tennessee Board of Regents will consider tuition and fee increases averaging 1.83 to 1.87 at the state’s community and technical colleges – equating to $24 per trimester at the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) and $42 to $45 per semester at the community colleges.

With Gov. Bill Lee’s expansion of the STRONG Act on May 17, there is no better time for Tennessee National Guardsmen to take advantage of incentives and benefits regarding their civilian education. While programs like the GI Bill and Federal Tuition Assistance have been around for some time, improvements to the Tennessee STRONG Act offer more educational options than ever before. Guardsmen can graduate with a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or attend a technical school almost completely debt-free.

The Finance and Business Operations Committee of the Tennessee Board of Regents will hold a special called meeting June 11 to consider its recommendations for student tuition and fees for the 2021-22 academic year. The committee’s recommendations will then be considered and acted on by the full Board of Regents at its quarterly meeting June 18.

The Board of Regents governs Tennessee's public community colleges and colleges of applied technology.

Thirteen faculty and staff members from the College System of Tennessee are among the 21 from colleges and universities statewide selected to participate in the 2021-22 Class of the Maxine Smith Fellows program.

The Maxine Smith Fellows program provides professional development, training and advancement opportunities for participants from traditionally underrepresented groups at the College System of Tennessee, governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), and the state’s locally governed public universities. Members meet monthly for a year, starting this month.

The Tennessee Board of Regents’ committee chairs, the Audit Committee and the Personnel and Compensation Committee will meet Tuesday, June 1, to receive informational updates and review and consider a number of items in advance of the full board’s next quarterly meeting on June 17-18, including a discussion of the 2015-25 Strategic Plan Mid-Cycle Review.

As a first-generation college student at Jackson State Community College, Kelan Jones didn’t have a clear understanding of how to be successful in college. A standout basketball player in high school, Jones saw the sport as his ticket to success. 

Jackson State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) at Jackson have signed an articulation agreement that will allow TCAT students in the Industrial Maintenance Integrated Automation program to have a more seamless transfer of credits to JSCC’s Engineering Systems Technology (EST) program.

As part of its continuing strategy to reduce the costs of college attendance and increase equity in access and student success, the Tennessee Board of Regents is awarding grants totaling $477,624.00 to 19 faculty-led teams at 11 colleges and universities to create free Open Educational Resources (OER) for their courses.

The 72 faculty members, librarians, instructional designers and other professional staff who comprise the teams will collaborate and innovate within and across campuses to transform their courses with support from the OER Grant Program. 

The Search Advisory Committee leading the search for the next president of Volunteer State Community College has scheduled its first meeting and a public forum on Wednesday, April 28.

The forum is scheduled for 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. CT, with the committee’s meeting immediately following at 9:30 a.m. – both by teleconferencing due to health and safety precautions for the Covid-19 pandemic.

The College System of Tennessee is proud to be a major part of the new Southern Tennessee Higher Education Center in Lawrenceburg, whose opening was celebrated Friday by the Lawrence County community.

The Search Advisory Committee that will lead the search for the next president of Volunteer State Community College has been appointed and will meet April 28, following a public forum on the search process.

Regent MaryLou Apple will chair the 18-member committee, which also includes Regents Joey Hatch and Emily J. Reynolds and representatives of the college’s students, faculty, staff and alumni, and civic and business leaders from the community. The complete list of members is below.