Latest news with #TNPromise
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
tnAchieves hits major milestone as 50,000+ recipients graduate from college
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The nonprofit, tnAchieves, is celebrating a major milestone in the program's history. According to the group's annual report, 53,168 students who have received support from tnAchieves have graduated from college. In addition, tnAchieves found that every graduation metric included in the report saw an annual increase. The three-year graduation rate jumped five percentage points, which tnAchieves said is a historic increase in college completion. The report added that 84.7% of graduates are living and working right here in the state. Sweetwater residents supporting each other after tornado in Loudon County According to the nonprofit, the increases are being driven by the COMPLETE and Knox Promise Programs. In addition, tnAchieves said Knox Promise's 49.3% three-year graduation rate would place the program third in the country when compared to national graduation rates. To read the full report, click here. 'tnAchieves is dedicated to taking a human approach to building Tennessee's future workforce,' said tnAchieves President and CEO Krissy DeAlejandro. 'There is power in supporting a student in not only going to college but encouraging them through meaningful degree completion and into the workforce. Today these 50,000 grads are more educated, more skilled and more prepared than ever to live and work in Tennessee.' KCDC honored in D.C. for veterans housing development in Knoxville The nonprofit's mission is to support Tennessee students and keep these numbers on the rise by offering educational resources like mentors, tutors and scholarships, including the TN Promise scholarship program. With these resources, tnAchieves hopes to ensure Tennessee students are as prepared to enter the workforce as they can be while also increasing their chances of graduating. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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
