Tennessee Higher Education Adult Student Fact Book: 2015-2016

In January 2010, the General Assembly passed the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA), a comprehensive reform agenda that seeks to transform public higher education through changes in academic, fiscal and administrative policies at the state and institutional levels. While the higher education landscape has been shaped by the CCTA, higher education is evolving to adopt Governor Bill Haslam's statewide reform agenda, collectively known as the "Drive to 55." Calendar year 2015 ushered in a new long-range plan, the 2015-2025 Master Plan for Tennessee Postsecondary Education, which sets the stage for continued transformational change in Tennessee higher education. This plan seeks to: (1) make dramatic increases in degree production and efficiency; (2) within available resources (state operating appropriations plus tuition); (3) without diminishing educational quality; (4) thereby improving community, county, and statewide postsecondary attainment; (5) to support improvements in workforce capacity and quality as well as economic and community (i.e., workplace) development. The success of this goal relies largely on the recruitment, retention, and completion of adults in higher education. Tennessee Reconnect, the adult-focused efforts of the Drive to 55, works to engage the over 900,000 Tennessee adults over 25 who have some college but have not completed their degree, and the 1.4 million Tennesseans over 25 with only a high school degree. Beyond meeting baseline metrics for labor market demand, state-level initiatives intend to ensure that postsecondary education is a viable option for any adult Tennessean who chooses to pursue it. This is accomplished by: (1) providing research for building the policy framework; (2) coordinating community and regional initiatives; (3) developing and leveraging employer and workforce partnerships; (4) supporting and building capacity within institutions to serve adults more effectively; and, (5) supporting and reaching out to adult learners. In order to more deeply understand and illustrate the importance and condition of adult learners in Tennessee higher education, we must analyze and report the rich data we have access to in our state. In 2015, The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) released the first edition of this THEC Fact Book focused solely on adult learners to provide institutional faculty and staff, state higher education policy leaders and non-profit organizations the context of adult student participation and success in Tennessee higher education. The purpose through all Tennessee Reconnect initiatives is to further understand the complexities, challenges and barriers facing adult learners in Tennessee in order to inform and influence state and institutional policy, support various community and state partnerships and build capacity within the state's institutions to more effectively support and reach out to adult learners. This fact book contains tables and charts with data relevant to Tennessee public institution profiles, adult student participation, adult student success, and Tennessee reconnect program updates. A glossary is also included. [For the " Tennessee Higher Education Adult Student Fact Book: 2014-2015," see ED572970.]