Lipscomb Promise provides pathway to bachelor's degree for Tennessee Promise graduates
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Lipscomb University announced a partnership with the Tennessee Board of Regents and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission at a special ceremony today to help increase number of adults with college degrees in Tennessee by offering scholarships, smooth transition for qualified students from Tennessee community colleges to pursue bachelor’s degree.
On Thursday, March 2, Lipscomb University President L. Randolph Lowry; Mike Krause, executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission; and Flora Tydings, newly appointed Tennessee Board of Regents chancellor; announced details of a new initiative called Lipscomb Promise that is designed for students who have successfully completed the Tennessee Promise at a Tennessee community college.
As the first students to complete their associate degrees through Tennessee Promise, which provides a scholarship that provides two years of tuition-free attendance at a community or technical college in the state, graduate in May, Lipscomb University officials wanted to partner with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the Tennessee Board of Regents to develop a program to develop a pathway for these students to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Lipscomb. This initiative supports Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam’s Drive to 55 to get 55 percent of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate by the year 2025.
“A lot has happened in the last few years,” said Krause. “And today really represents not only what the next step is for Lipscomb and for the state, but most importantly for our students. In Fall 2015 we enrolled 1,000 students in our community colleges across the state who were going to attend tuition free under Tennessee Promise. We hoped to be able to tell some of those students who maybe didn’t see themselves in higher education you can do college. You can succeed. And in fact you can succeed and transfer to one of our universities in the state.
“That’s why we are here today, because Lipscomb University, under Dr Lowry’s leadership, has stepped up and they’ve stepped up to say ‘we’re going to make sure you transition from any of the community colleges and there is going to be a place for you at Lipscomb. That’s really powerful.”
Today, 33,000 students are enrolled in the state’s community colleges using the Tennessee Promise scholarship, according to Krause, “which has exceeded our expectations by far.”
“The college-going rate, which is an important metric we use, went up 5 percent in 12 months,” he said. “That’s larger than the previous five years combined.”
Among the benefits Lipscomb Promise offers to qualifying students who have successfully completed an associate degree using the Tennessee Promise scholarship program are: $50 application fee to Lipscomb University will be waived; students will receive full-credit transfer for hours taken at a Tennessee community college by selecting one of Lipscomb’s 25+ Tennessee Transfer Pathway degree tracks; and students living on-campus will receive $12,500 ($6,250 per semester) in scholarship and off-campus students will receive a $10,000 ($5,000 per semester) scholarship. Lipscomb University’s tuition for the 2016-17 academic year is $27,472 (block tuition rate for 12-18 hours). Students must maintain full-time status of 12+ hours per semester and maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA renewal.
“I am very honored that we are having this event today. Thank you, Dr. Lowry, for stepping out to help the community college students to attain a very prominent and eminent degree from your university. It’s well respected. It’s a prestigious college. To have this opportunity for our students is very meaningful for us for not only does it give them the next step forward, but it also says to us as community colleges that you value what’s happening at the community colleges,” said Tydings.
“We know that we produce a product that’s above the average in the state of Tennessee. We are taking students who are coming to us that might not have ever had the opportunity to attend college without Tennessee Promise. It’s changed the conversation from not will I go to college, but where will I be going to college.”
Lowry said community college students are important to the Lipscomb community.
“Community college students are my favorite students,” said Lowry, “because they’ve had to do some amazing things to get to where we are talking about today. Many have not had the financial resources or had other obstacles that were barriers to an education. All of the sudden they see themselves not only as a college student but as a successful college student who is about to graduate form that two-year program and continue their education. I am so indebted to all of those who lead our community colleges who have taken on this tremendous challenge of absorbing all of the students who have come to their institutions through this new pathway.”
“We take this seriously in terms of our own investment in this program,” Lowry continued. “This will not happen without the university investing substantial resources not just in the people who will work with these students but in the funding for their education.”
Other scholarship opportunities are also available for students who are members of Phi Theta Kappa or the National Society of Leadership & Success and for those who have 30+ transferrable hours from the community college.
Katriel Griesen transferred to Lipscomb this past fall after having attended Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville for one year.
"It was never in my plan to transfer to Lipscomb," said Griesen, a sophomore nursing major. "I got the trustees scholarship to come here. It was totally a God thing. I love it here. It feels like home and it did the third week of school. I thankful that Lipscomb partners in things like this because I would have never had the opportunity to come here if it weren't for scholarships specifically for transfer students."
Griesen, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, said programs like Lipscomb Promise give students the "incentive to work harder in school and to have the same opportunity that I have."
Following the Lipscomb Promise announcement, Lipscomb University hosted a reception to honor Tydings, the new chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents who assumed the post Feb. 1.
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—Photos by Kristi Jones