News

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.

Southwest Tennessee Community College President Tracy D. Hall and Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Memphis President Roland Rayner have announced a groundbreaking partnership between their respective institutions that makes advanced training in automotive technology more accessible, affordable and effective than ever before.

The Search Advisory Committee assisting in the search for a new president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Knoxville will hold its orientation meeting and public forum Sept. 5 at the college.

The meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET Wednesday, Sept. 5 in Building A, Conference Room A, at the TCAT Knoxville main campus, 1100 Liberty Street, Knoxville. The meeting will open with a forum in which members of the public and college community can express their views about the search and the characteristics and skills the next president should have. 

More than 80,000 students open a new academic year today at Tennessee’s 13 public community colleges, where they’ll find an array of new facilities, programs and welcome back celebrations.

Students enrolled in the Aviation Technology program at Northeast State Community College will jump into a new laboratory space for training when fall classes begin next week.

Boy Scout Troop 694 from Cincinnati, Ohio, attended the races at Bristol Motor Speedway this past weekend. Before the green flag dropped, troop members earned their automotive maintenance merit badges at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Elizabethton.

The scouts visited the college Friday morning for the pre-arranged class in maintenance basics, before heading to speedway that afternoon. They began their 312-mile trek home on Sunday.

Jackson State Community College revealed its new athletic identity as the Green Jays Tuesday (Aug. 21, 2018) in an event open to the employees and the community. The newly refinished gym floor was revealed to spectators eagerly awaiting the new identity.

“From the very beginning we’ve been the Generals,” said Steve Cornelison, JSCC director of athletics and student activities. “At the time this mascot embodied our fighting spirit and continued with us as we built the institution and our athletic program from the ground up.”

For the second consecutive year, AT&T has donated $81,000 to the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology to enhance student training programs in Computer Information Technology, which will help address critical workforce development needs throughout Tennessee.

Motlow State Community College and Mechatronics Professor Khalid Tantawi have been awarded a $545,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a 36-month project to introduce the concepts and technologies of Smart Manufacturing to the educators of advanced manufacturing in the United States.

The project, titled “Smart Manufacturing for America’s Revolutionizing Technological Transformation” will feature Motlow as a national hub for training Smart Manufacturing for Mechatronics and Advanced Manufacturing educators across the nation.

Fifty-one educators and economic development professionals from state and local agencies assembled this week to launch the second class in the TNTrained program, a new initiative of the College System of Tennessee and the state departments that help recruit new jobs to Tennessee.

Cris Perkins has been appointed assistant vice chancellor for strategic advancement at the College System of Tennessee, assuming responsibility for system-level development, advancement and fundraising to bolster its Student Success and Workforce Development mission.

Perkins’ work also will support the development activities at the College System’s 13 community colleges and 27 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology. The system is governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.

People working in law enforcement and criminal justice fields seeking to advance their careers or students wanting to enter those fields quickly can take advantage of the new associate of applied science degree in criminal justice at Jackson State Community College.

The new two-year degree program launches this fall.

Four Tennessee community colleges are each receiving a $250,000 state grant to help high school students earn two-year degrees in the high-demand field of mechatronics.

Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings announced that Chattanooga State, Cleveland State, Motlow State and Roane State community colleges will receive the funding. The grants were funded by a $1 million appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2018-19 State Budget proposed by Gov. Bill Haslam and approved by the Tennessee General Assembly.

The Tennessee Board of Regents today approved criteria for the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Knoxville.

President Dwight E. Murphy is resigning as president of TCAT Knoxville effective Dec. 31. He  has served a dual role as president of TCAT Knoxville and TCAT Oneida/Huntsville for six years, and is resigning as president of the Knoxville campus only, remaining as head of the Scott County campuses.

A total of 41 students from 11 College System of Tennessee campuses won medals at the 2018 SkillsUSA National Championship, demonstrating their knowledge and expertise across an array of career and technical skills.

Gold medal winners from the 2018 Tennessee postsecondary SkillsUSA competition, held in March in Chattanooga, traveled with their advisors to Louisville, Ky., last month for the national competition.  The SkillsUSA National Championship is an annual event showcasing the best career and technical education students in the nation.