Jackson State StudentIn fall 2022, Jackson State and Northeast State Community Colleges launched pilot projects to test two new models of student success coaching. These projects are known as the Tennessee Coaching Project. The first pilot project, supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), provides targeted, career-focused support for recent high school graduates who are placed into learning support courses.


The second pilot project, supported by funding from Ascendium Education Group, provides tailored support for both new and returning adult learners (age 23+). In addition to coaching for adults, five faculty members at each pilot college will redesign their general education courses to adapt course policies, practices, teaching styles, and syllabi with an adult-friendly approach. The redesigned courses will be offered beginning in fall 2023. 

 

Prior Research and Relevant Resources

Project Partners

Additional Project Information

Presentations about the Project

Resources about the Tennessee Coaching Project

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Coaching in Action

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Putting Data to Work

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted the path to postsecondary success for many community college students in Tennessee. With support from the Institute of Education Sciences, TBR is examining the enrollment and persistence of community college students in the wake of COVID-19. Findings from this data analysis will be used to inform outreach and support by TBR colleges, including the Tennessee Coaching Project. The project's findings and tools created from this work will be shared below.

 

Additional Project Details

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted the path to postsecondary success for many community college students in Tennessee. In addition to declines in first-time college enrollment, many college students struggled to persist and attain credit in their first semester of enrollment. Among the nearly 15,000 recent high school graduates who enrolled as first-time students at Tennessee community colleges in fall 2020, 31% did not persist beyond their first semester, and 25% earned zero credit hours by the end of their first term.

With support from the Institute of Education Sciences, TBR will examine the persistence of community college students in the wake of COVID-19, estimate wage returns for graduates of TBR colleges, and launch new efforts to help students who struggle to persist. In fall 2022, Jackson State and Northeast State launched a new pilot project that provides coaching for recent high school graduates who are placed into corequisite learning support courses. These pilot projects enabled the colleges to hire five full-time coaches who expand the reach of learning support for underprepared students.
 

More than 700,000 working-age adults in Tennessee have some postsecondary credits but no degree (SCND). The re-engagement of SCND Tennesseans is critical to the state’s educational attainment and economic development goals, and statewide initiatives like Tennessee Reconnect have aimed to re-engage these adult students. Since 2010, 113,000 SCND Tennesseans ages 25 and over have reconnected at Tennessee community colleges. However, too few reconnectors persisted to credential completion. Upon returning to higher education, only 58% of reconnectors continued to their next semester, and 21% graduated within three years. 

With support from Ascendium Education Group, TBR is working with Jackson State and Northeast State to redesign the reconnecting semester for new and returning adults. In the redesigned experience, adults who enroll at community colleges encounter a new support model that embeds coaches into adult students’ courses and equips coaches with relevant labor market data to provide upfront, career-focused advising. Alongside this course coaching model, students will encounter courses that have been redesigned by faculty to ensure adult-friendly, flexible course policies and adult-focused teaching and learning strategies.