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'Career Starts Here TN' seeks recurring funding for coaching, grants and an innovation lab
Summary
THEC, TBR, Tennessee Achieves and the Ayers Foundation asked the House Education Committee for recurring funds to scale coaching for underprepared students, extend emergency grants to low-income students, expand college access pilots and fund an innovation lab to pilot AI and technology solutions.
A coalition of state agencies and nonprofit partners told the House Education Committee that several pilot programs that improved student persistence should be sustained with recurring funding under a new initiative called "Career Starts Here TN." The proposal asks the administration and legislature to fund four strategies aimed at improving access, persistence and credential completion.
"Career Starts Here TN is an initiative designed to enhance student success and strengthen Tennessee's workforce by implementing innovative strategies at our community and technical colleges," THEC Executive Director Steven Gentile said as he introduced the request.
The partners described four primary components:
- Scale college coaching for academically underprepared students (THEC described this as a roughly $5,000,000 recurring request to expand the Tennessee coaching project).
- Extend completion coaching and emergency microgrants for low-income students (partners requested about $7.5 million to fund completion coaching and grants to cover non-tuition essential costs such as books and transportation).
- Double access programs ( Advise TN for high schools and Navigate Reconnect for adult learners) with a $3,000,000 request to expand the number served.
- Launch a TBR Innovation Lab to support campus-led pilots, including AI tools, with a $500,000 recurring request.
TBR leadership and partners presented pilot results. The TBR chancellor said about 70% of incoming students at community and technical colleges are academically underprepared; coached students in pilot programs persisted at roughly 80% versus typical persistence nearer 40%. The chancellor reported a placement rate of 85% for recent graduates and a licensure-pass rate of about 95% on required exams.
Graham Thomas of Tennessee Achieves described the Complete coaching and emergency grant program: since 2018, more than 26,000 students participated, and partner organizations have distributed roughly 62,000 small grants totaling about $7.9 million; the pilot corresponded with higher graduation rates among participating students.
Shannon Haynes of the Ayers Foundation urged continued philanthropic and state support for the rural students the foundation serves.
Committee members asked about outreach to adult learners and underserved high schools, online course costs and whether the request will be in the governor’s budget. THEC said it will propose the request to the administration; if it is not included in the governor's budget, presenters said they will seek legislative support and may return with a committee bill.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT: Presenters said they will pitch the proposal to the administration during the budget process and will follow up with data requested by committee members.
