Higher education
|
Main article: List of colleges and universities in Tennessee |
Public higher education is overseen by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), which provides guidance to the state's two public university systems. The University of Tennessee system operates four primary campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin, and Pulaski; a Health Sciences Center in Memphis; and an aerospace research facility in Tullahoma.[9] The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), also known as The College System of Tennessee, operates 13 community colleges and 27 campuses of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT).[10] Until 2017, the TBR also operated six public universities in the state; it now only gives them administrative support.[11]
In January 1952, the University of Tennessee was the first major southern university to admit blacks.[12]
In 2014, the Tennessee General Assembly created the Tennessee Promise, which allows in-state high school graduates to enroll in two-year post-secondary education programs such as associate degrees and certificates at community colleges and trade schools in Tennessee tuition-free, funded by the state lottery, if they meet certain requirements.[13] The Tennessee Promise was created as part of then-governor Bill Haslam's "Drive to 55" program, which set a goal of increasing the number of college-educated residents to at least 55% of the state's population.[13] The program has also received national attention, with multiple states having since created similar programs modeled on the Tennessee Promise.[14]
Tennessee has 107 private institutions.[15] Vanderbilt University in Nashville is consistently ranked as one of the nation's leading research institutions.[16] Nashville is often called the "Athens of the South" due to its many colleges and universities.[17] Tennessee is also home to six historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).[18]
