Ten years ago, we set out to build future TN workforce. It's been a big success.
In 2014, Tennessee became the first state in the nation to offer free community and technical college to its graduating high school seniors through the TN Promise program.
After 10 years, we are celebrating a milestone of 53,000 college graduates!
In partnership with the nonprofit, tnAchieves, Tennessee students are now more skilled and prepared than ever before. Not only that, but 85% of tnAchieves graduates remain in Tennessee to live, work and raise their families.
Through TN Promise, Tennessee is investing in students who, in return, are investing back into the state.
When we launched as a local effort in Knox County in 2008, our goal was to create a path to a high-quality credential after high school with a focus on technical and community college graduates.
We also hoped to construct a more seamless springboard to four-year colleges and universities – all in the name of workforce development. It worked so well that we were able to expand and scale statewide.
tnAchieves believes in a big tent around the word college (community college, public and private four-year universities and technical colleges) which allows students to explore post-secondary options that will increase their lifelong earning potential.
89 percent of tnAchieves students represent a vulnerable student population. The objective is to reach those who previously did not believe post-secondary education was an attainable goal.
This often means we are working to not only bring a new student into the college pipeline but are also tasked with building programs to ensure they earn a credential and find meaningful employment on the other side of their college experience.
It's working – at scale.
tnAchieves college completion numbers are at an all-time high thanks to intentional efforts like volunteer mentors, college coaching and emergency aid grants to help students beyond college tuition costs covered by TN Promise.
tnAchieves provides wraparound supports so that students who go to college also remain in college and graduate.
In fact, tnAchieves students are nearly four times more likely to graduate college than their peers, meaning our investment in students and their futures is creating a thriving Tennessee economy for today and into the future.
Business and industry leaders across our state are opening doors for students to access job shadowing. Understanding that exposure to possible career opportunities increases a student's interest and likelihood of success, tnAchieves students are learning about medical fields at the University of Tennessee Medical Center and Maury
Regional Health, hearing about career options at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Hilton Hotels and Resorts and gaining real insight at Toyota and Nissan about jobs of the future. These household name brands are partnering hand in hand with tnAchieves to make sure they have a prepared workforce. When we and our partners move, the state moves, and Tennessee's economy thrives.
When we began as knoxAchieves in 2008, we hoped that one day we might send 10,000 students to college. We never dreamed that we would send more than 15,000 students annually and have more than 53,000 graduates.
TN Promise was a first-of-its-kind program and now serves as a national model. tnAchieves is currently the largest and most successful college access and success program in the country.
At just $83 per student, tnAchieves is the best return on investment our state has made. And we're not done!
tnAchieves is already building towards the next 50,000 graduates. The impact of these programs will change the trajectory of the lives of countless Tennesseans and provide our state with a qualified workforce for generations to come.
Bill Haslam served as the 49th Governor of Tennessee and is a founding board member of tnAchieves
Randy Boyd serves as the president of the University of Tennessee and is the founding and current chairman of the board for tnAchieves
tnAchieves is highlighting 10 years of TN Promise in this and future guest opinion column submissions.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TN Promise has prepared tens of thousands of college grads | Opinion
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