NASHVILLE, Press Release – During his fourth annual State of the State address
before the General Assembly, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam tonight
introduced the “Tennessee Promise.”
The historic proposal commits to providing on a continuing basis two
years of community college or a college of applied technology (TCAT)
absolutely free of tuition and fees to graduating high school seniors.
“Through the Tennessee Promise, we are fighting the rising cost of
higher education, and we are raising our expectations as a state,”
Haslam said. “We are committed to making a clear statement to families
that education beyond high school is a priority in the state of
Tennessee.”
After graduating from a community college, if students choose to
attend a four-year school, the state’s transfer pathways program makes
it possible for those students to start as a junior. By getting their
first two years free, the cost of a four-year degree would be cut in
half.
“This is a bold promise,” Haslam continued. “It is a promise that
will speak volumes to current and prospective employers. It is a
promise that will make a real difference for generations of Tennesseans,
and it is a promise that we have the ability to make. Net cost to the
state, zero. Net impact on our future, priceless.”
To make the Tennessee Promise sustainable over time, the governor
proposed transferring lottery reserve funds to create an endowment, with
the goal of strategically redirecting existing resources. He
recommended leaving $110 million in the lottery reserve fund to ensure
there is a healthy balance moving forward.
The Tennessee Promise is part of Haslam’s “Drive to 55” initiative
aimed at increasing the number of Tennesseans with a certificate or
degree beyond high school. In 11 years, 55 percent of Tennesseans will
need a certificate or degree to get a job, but today, only 32 percent of
Tennesseans qualify.
Other Drive to 55 efforts this year include:
• Statewide expansion of the Seamless Alignment of Integrated
Learning (SAILS) program to eliminate the need for remedial math courses
for students entering college with $2.6 million in the proposed
budget. Currently, 70 percent of high school graduates need remedial
classes before they are able to take a college level course.
• Offering
one dual enrollment course to high school students at no cost with
discounted courses available after that. Dual enrollment allows high
school students to take college credit courses, and there is a 94
percent probability that those students will go on to college.
• Expansion
of the Degree Compass program that predicts the subjects and majors in
which students will be most successful with $300,000 in the proposed
budget. The program was pioneered at Austin Peay University and is
modeled after companies like Netflix, Amazon and Pandora that tailor
their recommendations to what their customers are looking for.
• Creation
of an Adult Student Data System to help state colleges and universities
– both public and private – do a better job of identifying and
recruiting adults that are most likely to return to college and complete
their degree with $300,000 in the proposed budget. There are nearly
one million Tennesseans that have some college credit but haven’t earned
a certificate or degree.
• Appointment of a new Director of Workforce Alignment that will work with state departments and local officials.
• Workforce
alignment grants to local communities that have strategic plans in
place to connect education institutions with employers with a focus on
closing the skills gaps in their area with $10 million in the proposed
budget.
• Changing the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship
allotment to incentivize completion by raising the scholarship for
two-year schools from $2,000 to $3,000 and shifting the scholarship for
four-year schools from $4,000 to $3,000 the first two years and $5,000
the last two years.
As part of the address, the governor also discussed his budget
proposal for FY 2014-2015. “This year’s budget is a conservative one,”
Haslam said. “Revenue collections over the past several months have not
met projections, and our budget reflects that reality…In Tennessee,
education is a top priority, and this budget reflects that.”
Highlights of capital investments to support higher education include:
• $13 million to fund the Complete College Outcomes Formula;
• $63 million to fund capital maintenance projects at institutions across the state;
• $36.7 million to fund a new Williamson County campus for Columbia State Community College;
• $28.7 million to fund a new classroom building at Volunteer State Community College.
Notable K-12 investments include:
• $63 million to increase teacher salaries as part of the governor’s
ongoing effort to make Tennessee the fastest improving state in terms of
paying teachers more;
• $48.6 million dollars to fully fund the BEP formula.
Other budget highlights include:
• $1.7 million to fund a new statewide residential drug court in Middle Tennessee;
• $6.4
million to fund new child protective services and case manager
positions as well as other critical children’s services including foster
care and adoption assistance;
• $7 million increase for the
Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities to care for
some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens;
• A one percent pay raise for state employees;
• $40.3 million to the Rainy Day Fund bringing it to $496 million on June 30, 2015;
• $61 million in Fast Track Infrastructure and Job Training assistance;
• $6 million for a statewide tourism fund to support the work of the tourism commission.
The complete text of the governor’s speech and an archived video of his speech will be available at www.tn.gov/stateofthestate.
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