News

TBR-The College System of Tennessee has selected 38 college and university educators from across the state to serve as HIP Ambassadors for 2026. Their mission: share with campus colleagues information about High Impact Practices (HIPs), evidence-based teaching and student-experience activities that help students learn, advance and graduate into more successful lives and careers.

The Search Advisory Committee leading the Tennessee Board of Regents' search for the next president of Cleveland State Community College has been appointed, and a virtual public forum on the search process is set for Wednesday, Jan. 14.

TBR-The College System of Tennessee announces the three faculty members who comprise the inaugural Faculty Innovation Fellowship class, part of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ Maxine Smith Leadership Series.

The Faculty Innovation Fellowship provides a year-long opportunity for faculty members to develop a research-backed student success innovation. Fellows will work with the TBR Office of Policy and Strategy to analyze student outcomes data and develop a pilot project aligned with campus goals.

Members of the Faculty Innovation Fellowship Class of 2026 are:

Students, faculty and staff at Tennessee’s community colleges and colleges of applied technology collected and donated the equivalent of 163,175 food items during TBR-The College System of Tennessee’s 27th Annual Food Drive Challenge.

The donations go to campus food pantries for students in need and to local food banks and programs serving their communities. In addition to food donations, campuses collected cash contributions, which count in the collection totals as two items per dollar raised. This year’s food drive greatly surpassed last year’s total of 110,851 items.

Belmont University and TBR-The College System of Tennessee today announced a new transfer pathway for nursing graduates of Tennessee’s community colleges to advance their education at Belmont’s Inman College of Nursing, including bachelor’s degrees in nursing.

Students earned a record number of diplomas and certificates – 8,309 awards conferred – at the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) during Academic Year 2024-25, eclipsing the previous record set nearly 15 years ago, according to the annual TCAT student access and success report to the Tennessee Board of Regents Dec. 9.

The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) will hold its next regular quarterly meeting Dec. 9, 2025, at the TBR system office in Nashville. Agenda highlights include but are not limited to consideration of search criteria for the next presidents of Cleveland State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Oneida/Huntsville, a new degree program in Artificial Intelligence Technology at Southwest Tennessee Community College, and reports on the system foundation’s fundraising, TCAT student access and success trends, and the Tennessee Direct Admissions initiative.

The Foundation for the College System of Tennessee has been an invaluable partner to TBR - The College System of Tennessee—by supporting our students, faculty, and staff across our community colleges and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology beyond what state funding provides.

A new report from the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) highlights a decade of transformative progress in student success at the state's community colleges, driven by reforms to academic support known as corequisite learning support.

Each year, two-thirds of incoming students at Tennessee community colleges are identified as academically underprepared in math, reading, or writing. These students often face barriers to success before they even begin credit-bearing coursework, making innovation in academic support a critical priority for the state’s colleges.

Tennessee’s community and technical colleges honored veterans in their campus communities – including students, faculty, staff, alumni, and others – during Veterans Day activities across the state.

As part of the ceremonies recognizing and honoring all veterans, one at each college was also awarded the Chancellor’s Commendation for Military Veterans, a special recognition launched in 2020 by Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings.

The Tennessee Board of Regents committee chairs will meet Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, to receive informational updates in advance of the full board’s next quarterly meeting in December. The board’s Personnel and Compensation Committee and Audit Committee will hold business meetings immediately after the committee chairs meeting.

Cleveland State Community College Volleyball Head Coach Peyton McDaniel surprised her team Thursday night (Oct.

TBR - The College System of Tennessee hosted a Nuclear Workforce Summit on Oct. 28, 2025, on the Oak Ridge Campus of Roane State Community College. This event provided an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the ongoing nuclear renaissance in Tennessee and how our community and technical colleges are helping prepare Tennesseans for a broad range of rewarding careers in this growing industry.

The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) congratulates Dr. Jothany Reed, vice chancellor of academic affairs, on receiving national recognition and statewide appointments that highlight her leadership in higher education and workforce development.

On Oct. 6, Dr. Reed received the National Postsecondary Leadership Award from the Association for Career and Technical Education. The award honors her outstanding work in strengthening postsecondary education and workforce pathways across Tennessee and beyond.

TBR - The College System of Tennessee has announced a Nuclear Workforce Summit will be held on Oct. 28, 2025, on the Oak Ridge Campus of Roane State Community College. This event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will provide an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the ongoing nuclear renaissance in Tennessee.

As the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) rapidly approaches one million certifications across its national network in 17 years of existence, TBR – The College System of Tennessee proudly recognizes the thousands of certifications earned by students at community and technical colleges across the state. All 23 Tennessee colleges of applied technology (TCATs) and three of the system’s community colleges provided NC3 training, leading to 60,262 certifications.

Student enrollment is up 4 percent over fall 2024 at Tennessee’s community colleges and 6 percent at the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs), based on preliminary fall 2025 enrollment numbers presented to the Tennessee Board of Regents during its quarterly meeting Thursday and Friday.

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold its next regular quarterly meeting Sept. 18-19, 2025, at the new Knox Regional Health Science Education Center in Knoxville. Agenda highlights include consideration of a new systemwide strategic plan for 2025-35, proposed policy revisions, legislative and budget requests, and a report on student access, enrollment and success trends.

The board governs the College System of Tennessee – the state’s public community colleges and colleges of applied technology.

Today, we pause to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and honor all those affected by this tragedy. Their memory calls us to serve our communities and support one another.

On this National Day of Service and Remembrance, we encourage our students, faculty and staff to find ways to give back and strengthen the bonds that unite us.

Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) Chancellor Flora W. Tydings has appointed Roane State Community College’s Teresa Duncan as nuclear workforce lead strategist. In addition to remaining in her current role as vice president of workforce development at Roane State, Duncan will help lead the College System of Tennessee’s nuclear strategy to continue building a highly-skilled nuclear workforce in Tennessee.