News

About 90 advisors from Tennessee’s community and technical colleges convened in Nashville to improve their skills in advising adult learners, thousands of whom are expected on campuses when the expanded Tennessee Reconnect program goes into effect with this year’s fall semester.

The Tennessee Board of Regents today appointed Dr. Shanna L. Jackson as the next president of Nashville State Community College and Dr. Michael L. Torrence as the next president of Motlow State Community College.

Torrence will assume office at Motlow on May 1 and Jackson will begin her leadership of Nashville State on June 1.

The Board of Regents will consider Chancellor Tydings' recommendations of Dr. Michael L. Torrence for president of Motlow and Dr. Shanna L. Jackson for president of Nashville State. 

Jackson State Community College and the University of Memphis Lambuth signed a memorandum of understanding on March 3 that makes it easier for students to transfer between the two public institutions.

Dr. Carol G. Puryear assumed new duties today as interim president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology – Murfreesboro, pending the completion of a search for a new president. Dr. Lynn Kreider retired Wednesday after serving as the college’s president since 2012 and a 25-year career in higher education.

TCAT-Murfreesboro serves students in Rutherford and parts of six surrounding counties.

Columbia State and Pellissippi State are two of the six finalists for the American Association of Community Colleges' Award of Excellence in Student Success. No other state has more than one finalist in any one of the six award categories. Columbia State is also one of five finalists for the Advancing Diversity award

Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology are hosting National Technical Letter of Intent Signing Day ceremonies today for students who intend to pursue a technical career pathway in the 2018-19 school year.  The ceremonies are similar to signing day events for high school students announcing where they intend to play college athletics. National Career & Technical Education Signing Day honors students who are reserving their spots in programs that lead to in-demand, technical career options with good earnings potential. 

The Tennessee Board of Regents’ Committee on Finance and Business Operations will meet Tuesday, Feb. 20, to continue its discussion of student fees levied by the state’s Community Colleges and Colleges of Applied Technology for the 2018-19 academic year.

The committee will meet by telephone conference call at 2 p.m. CT Feb. 20 – the second of three meetings the committee has scheduled to discuss and recommend fees. The first was held Feb. 6, and the third is scheduled for March 13 at a time to be determined.

Twenty-eight of the state’s highest achieving community college students were honored at a special ceremony in Nashville Tuesday, Feb. 13.  

Representing Tennessee’s 13 Community Colleges, the outstanding students recently were named to the 2018 Phi Theta Kappa All-Tennessee Academic Team. Each student – many accompanied by their local state senators and representatives – was recognized and presented with a medallion during the luncheon at War Memorial Auditorium.  After the luncheon, the students toured the State Capitol and met with Gov. Bill Haslam.

Dozens of students and college presidents from Tennessee’s community and technical colleges visited Capitol Hill in Nashville Tuesday for the College System of Tennessee’s first Day on the Hill.

The groups participated in a variety of activities revolving around learning the legislative process, providing leadership opportunities, honoring some of the college system’s best and brightest students and informing policymakers and others about the quality of the state’s public colleges and their programs. 

A search advisory committee has selected four finalists for the next president of Nashville State Community College. All four will participate in campus visits and forums during the week of Feb. 12, the next step in the selection process.

Four finalists have been selected in the search for the next president of Motlow State Community College. All four will participate in campus visits and forums the week of Feb. 5, the next step in the selection process.

About 80 educators and economic and workforce development professionals are assembled in Smyrna today for the first TNTrained class, a new initiative of the College System of Tennessee, the state Department of Economic and Community Development and other state agencies.

The Tennessee Board of Regents’ Committee on Finance and Business Operations will meet Tuesday, Feb. 6, to begin discussions of student fees levied by the state’s Community Colleges and Colleges of Applied Technology for the 2018-19 academic year.

More than 80 college faculty, staff and administrators from Tennessee’s 40 community and technical colleges gathered to discuss and share high impact practices (HIP) for student success at The College System of Tennessee’s “Get HIP to Teach” conference in Murfreesboro.

People seeking a career as a firefighter or current firefighters who want to climb the ranks can benefit from a new degree in fire science at Jackson State Community College.

The projects, both funded by the prestigious Lumina Foundation in partnership with other national higher education organizations, will work to scale up High Impact Practices that improve student success, and to encourage the use of Comprehensive Student Records, which detail more of students' learning experiences and competencies.

The Tennessee Board of Regents reaffirmed its confidence in the quality of its colleges Thursday, approving a warranty guaranteeing that future graduates of technical training programs demonstrate skills identified in their curriculums and providing tuition-free retraining for those who don’t.

Tennessee’s community and technical colleges are stepping up their preparations to assist the adult learners who will enroll tuition-free in 2018 using the state’s new Tennessee Reconnect scholarship program.

As a series of 10 TN Reconnect Regional Strategic Roundtables wraps up today, it’s evident that Tennessee Board of Regents’ colleges will be well-prepared to help the anticipated large number of adults who will start classes in Fall 2018 with Reconnect paying their tuition and mandatory fees.

The board will convene at 1 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 14, in the Wemyss Auditorium of Caudill Hall on the campus of Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin.