Statements

Mission

As an independent organization, we advance efforts to improve college success for Tennessee students through research, facilitation, best practices and expertise.

Background

Through a Lumina Foundation for Education grant from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), the Tennessee College Access and Success Network formally launched in November 2010. The Network was founded under the leadership of a Partnership Council, comprised of representatives from the Ayers Foundation, Kingsport Educate and Grow, Niswonger Foundation, Oasis Center, Public Education Foundation, Southwest Tennessee Development District (REDI), tnAchieves, Tennessee Department of Education, and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission Office of P-16 Initiatives. Through partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education and THEC, the Network received Race to the Top funds in July 2011 to expand the reach of its services and grow its membership base. After being 'incubated,' at the Oasis Center for a year, the Network received its 501c3 status and has been operating as a stand-alone organization since July 2012. In 2022, TCASN became the backbone agency of GOAL Collective, a group of adult education providers collaborating in design and technology to build a central network with shared data and streamlined referrals, to ultimately create a system that will be able to better serve all middle Tennessee learners. Additional previous and current funding/programmatic partners include but are not limited to UBS Americas, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Nashville Public Education Foundation, Tennessee Educational Equity Coalition, and the National College Access Network.

Impact

Our major accomplishments over the past year include: 1.) Partnering with the Nashville Area Chamber and many other cross sector partners on the JP Morgan Chase New Skills Ready Grant. 2.) Launching Nashville Flex, a program aimed at increasing retention and success rates of part-time students at Nashville State Community College. 3.) Releasing our fifth edition of Bridge to Completion, a quantitative and qualitative deep dive into the college completion and college-going rates of MNPS graduates, with our partner Nashville Public Education Foundation. 4.) Becoming the backbone agency for GOAL Collective and adding two full-time staff members. 5.) Expanding and diversifying our board. Goals for the current year: 1.) Partner with more organizations across the state to ensure K-12 and higher education students have the access and support they need to succeed. 2.) Publicly release a report on the navigating transportation as a college commuter in Nashville and a education/higher education policy scan. 3.) Expand Flex to other community colleges across Tennessee.

Needs

1.) Diversified funding - We are continuously looking for ways to involve new funders and diverse our portfolio for sustainability. 2.) Technology devices for low-income students to participate in remote/virtual learning. Students are not only lacking the computers to participate , but also WiFi, as they do not have home access and locations where they previously accessed free WiFi are closed/unavailable. 3.) Operational Costs - We are good stewards of the funding we receive. Our administrative costs are only 14%. As with any organization, keeping and retaining great staff can always be a challenge. 4.) Member professional development ($50,000) - With state funding through a federal grant, we have been able to provide professional development to our members. Due to the ending of the federal grant, we no longer have funding to continue these events. 5.) Internships ($5,000) - as a small nonprofit, we use interns to assist with our work. We fundamentally believe interns should be paid for their time and expertise.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Education  - Higher Education
Secondary Category:	Education  - Student Services
Tertiary Category:	-

Areas Served

TCASN is a statewide organization; however, several of our projects have more specified geographic service areas.

TN - Davidson

TN