Corequisite Learning Support

As open-access institutions, Tennessee community colleges serve students regardless of their academic preparation. More than half of first-time students at Tennessee community colleges require remediation upon enrolling in college.

To meet the needs of students, colleges provide learning support in gateway courses.

Over the past decade, community colleges in Tennessee have adopted innovative strategies to provide students with timely and effective learning support. In 2015, Tennessee community colleges implemented a corequisite learning support model. This change made TBR the first college system in the nation to implement a corequisite model systemwide. 

Through corequisite learning support, every student at a Tennessee community college can access college-level courses during their first term of enrollment. Students who need additional support are also enrolled in a corequisite learning support experience alongside their college-level coursework. 

What is the history of corequisite learning support at Tennessee community colleges?

Before 2015, students enrolled in learning support courses through a prerequisite model. In the prerequisite model, students below college level in math, reading, or writing were required to pass a learning support course before enrolling in college-level, gateway courses. After a successful pilot in 2014-2015, the corequisite model was expanded systemwide. Corequisite learning support has helped improve student access and success in key gateway courses. After corequisite learning support was implemented, gateway course success rates for learning support students doubled. 

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