News

A married mother of two young children, Asia Ricketts is not your typical student in Jackson State Community College’s Advanced Maintenance Technician (AMT) Co-op.

The 26-year-old Huntingdon resident is Jackson State's first and only woman so far in the college's AMT co-op program. She has embraced the program, attending classes two days a week at Jackson State and learning hands-on experience while working three days a week as a co-op employee at Toyota Bodine in Jackson.

A Roane State professor had a front-row seat and a major role when NASA's New Horizon spacecraft flew by a small object 20-30 miles across and billions of miles away from Earth, at the edge of the solar system, as 2018 turned to 2019.

The New Year's flyby of the icy Ultima Thule may answer questions about the origin of the solar system, said Ted Stryk, who teaches philosophy and English at Roane State and is an expert at analyzing images of planets and other objects in space.

CMT, the leading country music and lifestyle channel, announced Wednesday that it is joining forces with TBR - The College System of Tennessee for a multi-city concert tour targeting rural areas of the state next spring to encourage Tennesseans to pursue higher education.

The Tennessee Board of Regents today appointed Dr. Bethany H. Flora as the next president of Northeast State Community College in Blountville and Kelli A. Chaney as the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville. Both will assume their new duties effective Jan. 2.

Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings is recommending the appointment of Kelli A. Chaney, a Kentucky community college administrator, as the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Knoxville.

Roane State and Anderson County Career and Technical Center students teamed up to solve mock cybercrimes and track down the culprits during the community college’s first cybersecurity competition.

The brainchild of Roane State Computer Science Professor Dr. George Meghabghab, the event had students uncover and resolve cyberattacks by mock adversaries who left digital traces of their tampering.

Participants also showcased their skills at coding, or programming, and encryption, or keeping others from reading private messages.

The Tennessee Board of Regents will meet in a special called session Tuesday, Nov. 13, to consider the chancellor’s recommendations for new presidents at Northeast State Community College and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Knoxville.

Northeast State Community College held a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday hailing the construction of a $29.8 million Technical Education Complex.

The 114,475 square-foot building will house the divisions of Business and Advanced Technologies. The complex will replace the oldest buildings on campus, which were built in the 1960s and early 1970s.

“This building has been long-awaited by the College and the community,” said Northeast State President James D. King. “It will be the crown jewel of the campus, and instrumental in student recruitment and workforce development.”

A Search Advisory Committee has selected two finalists for the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Knoxville. The candidates will visit the campus Nov. 7-8 to meet with faculty, staff and students – the next step in the selection process.

The finalists are:

A search advisory committee has selected two finalists for the next president of Northeast State Community College. Both candidates will participate in campus visits and forums during the week of Oct. 15, the next step in the selection process.

Roane State Community College has signed a partnership with Lindsey Wilson College to allow students to seamlessly transfer their college credits toward degrees at the Kentucky institution.

“It means so much for students who want and need to continue their education to be able to transfer their credits,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said during a recent ceremony.

“We look forward to a strong relationship,” Lindsey Wilson College President William Luckey said.

Thousands of skilled labor jobs go unfilled in Memphis every day. Presidents of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Memphis (TCAT Memphis), Southwest Tennessee Community College and The MMBC Continuum announced Tuesday a joint venture with the newly formed TAP Education Consortium to launch a construction apprenticeship program. Beginning in January 2019, participants will work during the day and attend TCAT Memphis at night to learn skills in electrical, masonry or concrete.

The Tennessee Board of Regents today approved a 25 percent increase in the Drive to 55 targets at its 13 community colleges – increasing the number of degree recipients needed to meet the targets to 134,055 by 2025.

The new targets represent an increase of 26,667 community college graduates, from the 107,388 graduates that would have been needed during that same time period under the previous targets set in 2015.

Overall enrollment in Tennessee’s community colleges for the current fall semester is 88,352 students, an increase of 1,132 – or 1.3 percent -- over the official Fall 2017 enrollment count, according to preliminary data presented to the Tennessee Board of Regents Thursday.

Tennessee's community colleges are “probably the furthest along in implementing guided pathways reforms” of any community college system in the nation, a new study by Columbia University concludes.

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold its fall quarterly meeting Sept. 27-28 at Dyersburg State Community College. The agenda includes updates and reports on fall semester enrollments, community college graduation rates, Drive to 55 degree and certificate targets, legislative priorities, system budget requests and a new digital engagement initiative that will offer students digital textbooks at lower costs.

Students in Jackson State’s Radiologic Technology Program achieved a 100 percent pass rate in the most recent semester, a testament to the program’s longevity and success.

Each of the 21 students who finished the program in August passed the national certification exam on his or her first attempt. The program has produced a 100 percent pass rate on first attempt in six of the last eight years.

Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings’ statement today regarding UT President Joe DiPietro’s retirement announcement:

The Audit Committee of the Tennessee Board of Regents and the chairs of the board’s six standing committees will meet Tuesday, Sept. 11, to review a number of items in advance of the full Board’s next quarterly meeting Sept. 27-28.