Tennessee sees largest increase in college-going rate in nearly 10 years

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — More Tennessee high school graduates are going to colleges and other postsecondary education training, according to new data from the state’s Higher Education Commission.

Tennessee’s college-going rate increased from 54.3% in 2022 to 56.7% in 2023. The 2.4% spike is the largest since 2015 when the state launched the Tennessee Promise Scholarship, which provides qualifying students free tuition for community or technical colleges.

“What it means practically is that compared to last year, 1,500 more students are going on to a postsecondary training of their choice,” said Dr. Steven Gentile, executive director of Tennessee’s Higher Education Commission.

📧 Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts →

Gentile told News 2 the college-going rate is bouncing back after a nearly 10% drop during and after COVID, due to the pandemic’s impact on student bodies and the economy.

Since then, the state launched “Momentum Year 2023,” aimed at increasing the college-going rate through new trainings for students on accessing financial aid, more scholarship opportunities, and partnerships with organizations including the Ayers Foundation Trust which, among other services, provides at-risk, rural county high schools across Tennessee with counselors to help students through the college application process and beyond.

“You have to make sure you have a place to live, you have food to eat, and you’re safe before you can even think about taking that next step and going to college, so we try to remove some of those barriers or get them help or assistance,” Burton Williams, the CEO of the Ayers Foundation Trust said.

In 2021, the Tennessee General Assembly allotted money to expand the Ayers Scholarship Program to 21 rural counties. In the past two years, the college-going rates in rural high schools with Ayers Foundation Trust counselors have seen some of the largest increases, including a 25% jump at Lewis County High School, according to data from the Ayers Foundation Trust. Together, the 33 high schools have a 66% average college-going rate for 2023, almost 10% above the state’s rate.

“In just two years all of those counties are now above the state average, which is just really rare that you can turn the tide that quickly, but it’s because we have counselors there every day in the school,” Williams said.

While some experts across the country worry college-going rates will drop this upcoming fall after what many have described as a “chaotic” and “confusing” FAFSA application rollout by the federal government, Tennessee’s FAFSA application completion rate is the highest in the country, according to national.fafsatracker.com .

⏩ Read today’s top stories on wkrn.com

Despite that, Tennessee’s FAFSA application completion rate is 11% lower than this time last year. The state is hosting up to 150 events across TN to help students through the application process to improve the completion rate.

For more information on the statewide FAFSA application events, click here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.