NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) released college enrollment data for the fall 2018 semester, indicating that 221,775 students across the state enrolled in community colleges and public universities for the 2018-2019 academic year. This marks the third consecutive year that postsecondary enrollment has grown across the state, and an increase of 1,656 additional students compared to fall 2017.

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) announced today that three universities in Tennessee will receive funding and program support through additional Veteran Reconnect Grant awards to assist veterans and service members in their pursuit of college degrees. Austin Peay State University, Fisk University, and Tennessee Technological University will join 14 colleges and universities who received Veterans Reconnect Grants in for the 2018-2019 academic year.

NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) announced today that 14 colleges and universities in Tennessee will receive funding and program support through the Veteran Reconnect Grant to assist veterans and service members in their pursuit of college degrees.

NASHVILLE – Students in 15 Tennessee counties will benefit from over $11.68 million in funding to support college access and success efforts thanks to a federal grant. The funding is part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant, which aims to increase the number of low-income students in Tennessee who are accessing and succeeding in higher education. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission, which secured the federal grant, announced the communities that will be a part of Tennessee’s GEAR UP project, GEAR UP TN, following a competitive selection process.

NASHVILLE – The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the Tennessee Higher Education Commission a $24.5 million grant to increase the number of low-income students in Tennessee who are accessing and succeeding in higher education. The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant will provide Tennessee $3.5 million in resources annually over seven years.

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) has awarded nearly $800,000 in Tennessee Promise Forward grants to five community colleges to develop and expand innovative student success and retention programs. Through the grants, community colleges will provide academic, advising, and community partnership programs to enable more Tennessee Promise students to earn a post-secondary credential.

BILOXI, Miss. – Tennessee’s efforts to increase educational attainment among veterans were recognized with a State Transformation in Action Recognition (STAR) Award during the Southern Legislative Conference’s (SLC) annual meeting in Biloxi, Miss.

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) has awarded a total of $773,447 to three community colleges and one university to increase student success and outcomes.

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) today elected two new officers during the quarterly meeting. Mr. Vernon Stafford was elected Vice-Chair for West Tennessee, and Ms. Mintha Roach was elected Vice-Chair for East Tennessee.

NASHVILLE, TN – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) announced today that 13 colleges and universities in Tennessee will receive additional funding and program support to serve veterans and service members and help them earn postsecondary degrees as part of Governor Bill Haslam’s Drive to 55.

NASHVILLE, TN – A record number of students are going to college directly after high school and they are showing up more prepared once they get there according to two recent reports from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC). The annual Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book and the interactive 2017 Profiles and Trends in Higher Education report published by THEC highlight data and trends in relation to the Drive to 55.

NASHVILLE, TN – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) announced today that the number of Tennessee Promise students who enrolled in college for the first time grew in the program’s second year while the majority of the scholarship’s first class of students re-enrolled for a second year of college. The Tennessee Promise scholarship was the first in the nation to offer graduating high school seniors two years tuition-free at a community or technical college.

NASHVILLE, TN – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) released the 2017 Labor Education Alignment Program (LEAP) Report on Thursday, revealing that in the first full year of operation, LEAP programs across the state produced nearly 1,000 postsecondary credentials in high-demand industries. The graduates credentialed through LEAP address Tennessee’s shortage of skilled workers to fill job openings in fields such as manufacturing and production, healthcare, and information technology.

MEMPHIS, TN – The Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Memphis and Bartlett City Schools will unveil a new partnership to provide college-level machine tool training to juniors and seniors at Bartlett High School. The partnership between the TCAT and the school district includes the placement of a machine tool technology lab on the Bartlett High School campus to promote early college credit for in-demand skills.

NASHVILLE, TN – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC), along with many state partners, are launching a series of initiatives focused on increasing college enrollment in the state. TN FAFSA Frenzy, Scholarship Saturday, and College Application Week are designed to connect students and educators with resources to apply for college and financial aid, while continuing to boost the growing college-going rate in Tennessee, which increased to a historic high of 62.5 percent in 2015. The launch of the events coincides with the opening of the 2017-18 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) filing period on October 1.