News

Two more Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology – TCATs Crossville and McMinnville – have earned VETS Campus certification by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, certifying their commitment to programs and services to help veterans succeed as they pursue their education.

The number of high school students dual-enrolled in Tennessee’s community and technical colleges has increased 68 percent from Fall 2015 to Fall 2022 – the fastest growing group of students on the college campuses.

The College System of Tennessee honored its outstanding students, faculty, staff, supporters and partners of the year at the Fifth Annual Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition (SOAR) celebration Wednesday night, March 29, in Nashville.

The search advisory committee assisting with the search for the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Memphis has selected two finalists for the position, both of whom will participate in public interviews on the campus Tuesday, April 4, the next step in the selection process.

The finalists are: 

The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold its next quarterly meeting Thursday, March 30 at 9 a.m. CT at the TBR system office, 1 Bridgestone Park, Nashville. The meeting will also be live-streamed and archived on the TBR website at https://www.tbr.edu/board/march-2023-quarterly-board-meeting.

Chancellor Flora W. Tydings has been named as one of USA Today’s Women of the Year for 2023. This recognition from the news organization is given to women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. The USA Today network includes The Tennessean, The Knoxville News Sentinel, and The Commercial Appeal, as well as the Columbia Daily Herald, Oak Ridger, The Daily News Journal, The Jackson Sun, and The Leaf-Chronicle.
 

The Tennessee Board of Regents Committee Chairs will meet March 7, 2023, to receive informational reports and review the draft agenda for the full board’s next quarterly meeting on March 30. The board’s Audit Committee will meet immediately following adjournment of the committee chairs.

Governor Bill Lee’s FY 2023-24 budget proposal to fund a comprehensive upgrade of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology would be a generational investment in Tennessee’s future that will change lives and benefit our state, communities and students for decades to come, Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor Flora W. Tydings said.

Eve Miclaus, a student at Roane State Community College, is one of only eight students from across the U.S. selected as a 2023 DREAM Scholar by Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national nonprofit network of 300 colleges across the nation dedicated to advancing community colleges as hubs of equity and mobility in their communities.

Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing community colleges as hubs of equity and mobility in their communities, has designated Chattanooga State Community College as a Leader College of Distinction for 2023, one of ATD's top nationwide honors.

Tennessee community and technical colleges are not only the college of choice for students seeking short-term training for high-wage careers but are a driving force for businesses choosing to relocate or expand their operations in Tennessee. Strategic partnerships between TBR – The College System of Tennessee and local businesses have laid the foundation for a workforce pipeline that eliminates concern in finding qualified and highly skilled labor – an enticing incentive at a time when nationwide labor shortages are still high. 

Tennessee’s community and technical colleges reported a 10% increase workforce and continuing education 

Dr. Jeff Sisk, who for nearly three decades has focused on helping students learn the skills necessary to be successful in the workplace, is the newly appointed executive director of the College System of Tennessee’s Center for Workforce Development.

A Navy veteran searching for a college that would be a good fit found that Pellissippi State Community College was a perfect choice.

Thanks to the generosity of our campus communities, food insecurity is less of a barrier to attendance for students in need and hunger is less prevalent in our broader communities.

Students, faculty and staff at Tennessee’s public community and technical colleges collected and donated the equivalent of 148,578 food items in the College System of Tennessee’s Annual Food Drive Challenge for 2022. The food and cash donations go to campus food pantries and local organizations, programs and food banks in their communities.

During its quarterly meeting today, the Tennessee Board of Regents appointed Susan L. Hatto as the next president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Athens and Patrick Wade as the next president of TCAT Murfreesboro.

Chancellor Flora W. Tydings recommended both candidates to the board after reviewing input from the two college communities following campus forums last month, and then further interviewing the finalists. Both were among separate sets of finalists selected by search committees at their respective colleges.

Regina Watkins has been appointed director of veteran enrollment and benefits at TBR – The College System of Tennessee. In this new role, Watkins will work directly with the System’s 13 community colleges and 24 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology across the state to support their School Certifying Officers (SCOs) in administering veteran education benefits. 

The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) will hold its next quarterly meeting Dec. 1. The agenda includes consideration of the chancellor’s recommendations for the next presidents of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT) at Athens and Murfreesboro, proposed new career and technical education programs, financial reporting, and an update on construction of the new TCAT campus at Ford’s Blue Oval City project.

Four Tennessee community colleges are in the process of implementing self-designed pilot plans for Reimagining the Community College Experience – a Tennessee Board of Regents initiative to improve student success through more extensive career exploration, career advising and a workforce-focused certificate in a student’s first semester.

Tennessee’s community and technical colleges have kicked off their 24th Annual Food Drive Challenge, with campuses competing to collect the most food items and cash donations to help stock student food pantries on their campuses and food banks in their communities.

The colleges, comprising the College System of Tennessee, collected 132,701 items, including cash, in last year’s Challenge. Over the years, more than 1,490,700 food items and funds converted to items have been collected.