Tennessee’s Commissioner of Economic and Community
Development Randy Boyd has been a mentor with the program since its inception
in 2008. “With the idea of eliminating
the barriers keeping Tennessee students from entering the post-secondary
pipeline, Tennessee Promise provides a last-dollar scholarship with mentor
support to our state’s high school seniors,” said Boyd. “It sends the
message to students and families that college is within everyone’s reach
regardless of zip code or socio-economic background. It also communicates
to business and industry that Tennessee is intensely focused on creating the
workforce to meet their demands.” TN
Promise is one program of the state’s Drive to 55 initiative that aims to
increase Tennessee’s adult population with a post-secondary credential to 55
percent by 2025.
In the first two years of the program almost
120,000 students have applied. In the
first year, 16,291 students began college TN Promise eligible. The state’s college going rate increased 4.6
percent, more than the previous seven years combined. Enrollment at the state’s community and technical
colleges increased more than 20 percent and enrollment at all of the state’s
public higher education institutions increased 10 percent. This translates into approximately 4,000 new
students entering the college pipeline.
The scholarship dollars are important, and often
creates excitement around going to college, but the support of the mentor can
be critical to many students’ success.
Most of the students participating in the program are first generation college
attendees and navigating the admissions and financial aid processes can seem
overwhelmingly . Mentors spend about one
hour per month reminding students of deadlines, serving as a trusted resource,
and encouraging students to reach their full potential. The time commitment is small, but the impact
can be life changing.
