Tennessee Promise Program
Nashville, TN | December 2022
Tennessee Promise Application Process by Count (2015-2022)
Post-enrollement,
~50%
of students drop out by Semester 6
Findings & Key Takeaways
While the majority of applicants complete the FAFSA, less than half of the original pool remains after fulfilling the 8-hour community service requirement. About 1 in 5 applicants will meet all requirements and enroll. However, the Tennessee Promise office reports that around half of students drop out by the 6th semester. Altogether, of the 60,000 people who apply for the program in a given year, just 6,000 will successfully obtain a certificate or degree.
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Though the program is well-intentioned, the results suggest that a “one-size-fits-all” approach may not be sufficient to meet the state’s “Drive to 55” goal. Collecting direct feedback from students about their needs and program experience could provide valuable insights into the factors contributing to the high dropout rate, and offer tailored support while students are in school.
Given the high drop-off rate between FAFSA submission and community service completion, it may be beneficial to evaluate whether the community service requirement presents a significant barrier for applicants. Community service is indeed valuable, and reflecting on how this requirement can be restructured can increase applicant retention and support the state’s Drive to 55 goal.
Data management issues within the program are evident—particularly with Cohort 6, the 2020-21 school year. First, there is no available data on the mentorship program for any cohort. And several requirements were modified or waived for Cohort 6 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including moving mentorship meetings online, eliminating the community service requirement, and extending the application deadline. Despite these adjustments, the significant drop-off between applicants and enrollees persisted, with no explanation from the program office regarding this loss.
Context
In 2014, Tennessee set a goal for 55% of adults to hold a college degree or certificate by 2025.
Tennessee Promise is a last-dollar scholarship that covers tuition and fees for residents attending any of the state’s 13 community colleges, 27 applied technology schools, or other approved associate degree programs. The program is available to recent high school graduates, home-schooled students, and those who earned a GED or HiSET diploma before age 19.
In addition to the requirements listed right, students must be enrolled full-time enrollment and have at minimum, a 2.0 GPA at their institution to maintain their eligibility.
Data Evaluation
Based on the latest data provided by the Tennessee Promise office, I created a bar graph to compare the counts across the program’s cohorts and highlight trends. In the graph below, “cohort #” refers to the school year in which students apply for the program.