College System of Tennessee

The Tennessee Board of Regents today approved 12 new training programs at nine Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology across the state, and expanded learning-support programs for students of the TCATs.

In other action during the board’s quarterly meeting, Regents received a report on various measures of student success, including dual enrollment of high school students taking college courses and earning college credits.

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold its next regular quarterly meeting Dec. 12, with an agenda that includes consideration of budget revisions, 12 new student training programs at Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology and the annual satisfaction survey of graduates of the technical colleges and their employers.

Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings has designated Dr. Robert Denn, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, to serve as Veterans Coordinator for the College System of Tennessee, the state’s 40 community and technical colleges.

The Tennessee Board of Regents has established the Foundation for the College System of Tennessee to support its 13 community colleges and 27 colleges of applied technology through advocacy, marketing and fundraising.

The foundation’s board will guide the foundation in its mission, vision and growth. The board’s inaugural members are leaders in business, education and nonprofits who have a keen interest in the public colleges and their students as key to Tennessee’s future. The board convened for the first time last week and will meet again in February and June of 2020.

Gov. Bill Lee and other state and local officials broke ground today for construction of the McMinn Higher Education Center in Athens, a collaborative facility that will house programs offered by Cleveland State Community College, the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Athens, and UT Extension.

The $18 million, 52,000-square-foot center is expected to open for classes and training in 2021. It will also provide space for local industry training to upgrade the skills of the area’s workforce.

Students at Tennessee’s community colleges earned 14,963 Associate degrees and technical certificates during the 2018-19 academic year – a 79 percent increase over the past 10 years despite a slight decrease in student enrollment over the same period.

The Tennessee Board of Regents today approved the appointment of Dr. Allana R. Hamilton as the board’s new vice chancellor for academic affairs. She has been president of Jackson State Community College for nearly three years and has a total of 28 years of experience as a faculty member and academic officer.

More than 83,000 students are starting a new academic year today at Tennessee’s 13 community colleges, where they’ll find new facilities, programs and services to enhance their learning experience. Registration for late applicants continues this week.

Welcoming events will be held at most campuses throughout the week as students arrive for classes.

A total of 42 students from 12 Tennessee technical and community colleges won medals at the 2019 SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference by demonstrating their knowledge and expertise across an array of career and technical fields.

Tennessee college students won three Gold medals, 10 Silver and 29 Bronze medals in the NLSC national championships June 22-26 in Louisville, Ky. -- one more medal than the 41 they won last year. In addition, 38 students from 13 campuses were Top Ten certificate winners, scoring at the 90th percentile and above on their exams.

Two Tennessee community college presidents are among the 46 members of the Leadership Tennessee Class of 2020 announced Monday by the statewide leadership initiative.

Dr. Rebecca Ashford, president of Chattanooga State Community College, and Dr. Bethany Flora, president of Northeast State Community College, are among the seven educators -- five from higher education -- selected for the new Leadership Tennessee class.