Pellissippi State Community College helps community college consortium earn $7.6 million federal grant

Pellissippi State Community College helped submit the grant proposal that earned a $7.6 million federal grant for the 13 community colleges in the Tennessee Board of Regents system. The grant, provided via the U.S. Department of Labor’s Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants program, will support workforce development activities, including the creation of short-term career training programs that are eligible for new Workforce Pell student scholarships. 

According to an article on Pellissippi State Community College’s website, the college’s Pellissippi President L. Anthony Wise Jr was quoted as saying of the school’s role in the grant award, “Pellissippi State is proud to be a part of the team that developed the grant and is excited to work with TBR and our peer institutions to develop short-term certificate programs in several key areas. The work will be challenging, but the payoff for students and the state should be significant."

The federal government’s Pell Grant program has recently been expanded to provide Pell Grant funding to individuals who are enrolled in high-quality, short-term career-education programs. In the past, this funding has been reserved for students in colleges or universities pursuing a degree, but the funding will now be available for those who are interested in workforce training instead of a college degree.

The main component of the grant proposal is the establishment of TalentTN, which will help the state’s community colleges develop these short-term Workforce Pell-eligible programs. These programs will be developed to correspond with priority areas of the region’s workforce as identified by the state, including Advanced Manufacturing, Logistics and Distribution, Information Technology including Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare, and Sustainable and Nuclear Energy.

Amy Moreland, who serves as the TBR vice chancellor for research and innovation, said, “Tennessee’s community colleges have long been leaders in connecting students to career opportunities through strong relationships with employers. TalentTN gives us the ability to build upon that strong foundation by expanding short-term training pathways that respond directly to employer needs while helping more students access high-quality credentials that lead to meaningful careers and continued education.”

In order to qualify for Workforce Pell funding, programs must have a class duration of eight to 15 weeks, include 150 to 599 clock hours of instruction, and be offered by an accredited postsecondary institution that has been operating for more than one year. Additionally, programs must correspond with high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors, lead to a credential or industry-relevant certification, and have defined metrics regarding student completion and job placement.

TBR Chancellor Flora W. Tydings said, “This grant, one of the largest our system has received, will enable us to build the kind of short-term training programs that Tennesseans need to launch successful careers in a broad range of fields that employers and our economy need. This is a major addition to our toolbox of academic, career and technical education programs that build careers and strengthen communities.”

The majority of the funding will go toward TalentTN, but smaller portions will be utilized to expand the Reimagining the Community College Experience initiative and to expand the Open Education Resources available for students.

For more information about Pellissippi State Community College, visit the school’s website.