Board of Regents quarterly meeting is March 27. Agenda includes non-mandatory fee proposals, launch of data dashboard with employment and earnings outcomes, proposed name change for TCAT Crossville.

NASHVILLE (March 21, 2024) -- The Tennessee Board of Regents will hold its spring quarterly meeting March 27, 2024, at 1 p.m. CT at the TBR system office, 1 Bridgestone Park, Nashville, 37214. The meeting will also be livestreamed and archived on the TBR website at https://www.tbr.edu/board/march-2024-quarterly-board-meeting.

The Board of Regents governs the College System of Tennessee – the state’s public Community Colleges and Colleges of Applied Technology. The full agenda, executive summary and detailed board materials are posted online at the TBR meeting link above.

The agenda includes, but is not limited to, proposed revisions to the colleges’ non-mandatory fee list, including a combination of some fee increases and eliminations; proposed revisions to policies on tuition, fees, charges, refunds and payments; proposed renaming of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Crossville to TCAT Upper Cumberland; TCAT program modifications; faculty emeritus recommendations; an update on legislation affecting the college system, and a report on Fiscal Year 2022-23 financial performance results.

In addition, TBR staff will preview the new Careers Start Here online dashboard displaying aggregate employment outcomes and earnings data for graduates of TBR colleges, including comparisons with outcomes for students who enrolled but did not graduate. The dashboard and accompanying data tools will be on the TBR website and updated quarterly with new information for public use. The new data tool is made possible by a partnership between TBR and the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development that enables the sharing of aggregate data.

The proposed renaming of TCAT Crossville is another step in its consolidation with TCAT Livingston, initially approved by the board last September pending approval of the colleges’ accreditation and other agencies. If approved, TCAT Crossville will be renamed TCAT Upper Cumberland, after the geographic area of both institutions, effective May 3 with the start of the summer trimester. TCAT Livingston would assume the new name when the consolidation is fully implemented in Fall 2025, pending the remaining approvals.

The proposals on non-mandatory fees result from an initiative of the business and finance officers at the colleges and at the system office to clean up, consolidate and standardize the comprehensive fee list maintained by the system office. "Non-mandatory fees" are assessed students only in specific classes and programs, as opposed to “mandatory fees” assessed to all students enrolled at the college.

As a result of the revisions, if approved, the online course fee for students in online courses would be standardized at $25 per credit hour – an increase for students at eight community colleges and a decrease at two others. In addition, fees in certain classes at two community colleges would be altered, resulting in increases in four courses and decreases in lab fees associated with two courses.

The proposed policy changes reflect the fee revisions.

The board will also consider approving a resolution of appreciation for former TCAT Harriman President Danice Turpin, who retired March 1 after 35 years of service in the TBR system, the last 16 as president of TCAT Harriman.

Those wishing to attend the board meeting, in lieu of the livestream, may contact Mariah Perry at mariah.perry@tbr.edu or 615-366-3927 by 4 p.m. CT Tuesday, March 26, for security access or accommodations.

Persons who want to request to address the Board may follow the process authorized by

TBR Policy 1.02.12.00 – Requests to Address the Board.

The spring quarterly meeting is held in conjunction with the College System’s 6th annual Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition (SOAR) events March 27-28, which recognize the colleges’ outstanding students, faculty, staff, philanthropists, volunteers and partners. SOAR activities include TBR Student Day on the Hill March 27, in which student government leaders and SkillsUSA postsecondary officers visit with legislators, attend committee hearings and tour the State Capitol, and, on March 28, the Student Honors luncheon recognizing Phi Theta Kappa and National Technical Honor Society students, and the main SOAR Awards Dinner that evening.