Community colleges and TCATs impact Q&A
- Will the Tennessee Transfer Pathways be affected by the FOCUS Act?
A: The Tennessee Transfer Pathways were created by a separate statute as part of the Complete College Tennessee Act of 2010, so they should not be affected by the changes created with the FOCUS Act. TBR and THEC will work to continue close collaboration among institutions. The FOCUS Act includes a statement requiring the TBR to work with the university boards to ensure alignment between community colleges and state universities, especially related to innovation and student success initiatives. The Tennessee Promise scholarship creates an incentive for the universities to continue to develop smooth transitions for students to transfer.
- What about individual articulation agreements the community colleges have with the universities?
A: Articulation agreements independently made by the colleges and universities should not be affected by the change in board governance and will remain in effect for as long as the individual colleges and universities have stated in their agreements.
- Will the community colleges get their own local boards eventually?
A: The community colleges, as well as TCATs, will continue to be governed by TBR. There are no plans for community colleges to have separate governing boards.
OTHER QUESTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED:
- What does it mean when they say TBR can now focus on community colleges and TCAT? What, if anything, will be different from how we’ve been operating under TBR?
- How will this affect our chargebacks if the universities are no longer helping support TBR?
- Will any of our purchasing contracts be affected?