‘TN Direct Admissions’ to Simplify Path to College, Technical Training

NASHVILLE (July 23) — The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) announced the launch of TN Direct Admissions, a new pilot program that automatically accepts eligible high school seniors into in-state public and private universities, as well as the state’s community and technical colleges (TCAT), using existing academic data.

Clarksburg, Huntingdon, West Carroll and Gleason schools are some of Tennessee’s 230 high schools participating in TN Direct Admissions.

In this pilot program, 41,000 randomly selected high school seniors will receive a TN Direct Admissions letter from Governor Bill Lee in November. In this letter is a list of the in-state colleges and TCAT institutions where they have been automatically accepted — without having to complete traditional college applications. More than 20,000 of those letters will also outline the state and institutional financial aid available to students.

Students only need to complete the Tennessee Promise application by November 1 to be eligible.

A total of 53 higher education institutions will participate in the TN Direct Admissions program and pilot initiative, including all of Tennessee’s Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs), 13 community colleges and 17 public and private colleges and universities.

Participating colleges and universities include Austin Peay State University, Bethel University, East Tennessee State University, Freed-Hardeman University, TCAT Henry/Carroll, Jackson State Community College, Tennessee State University, Union University, University of Memphis, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and University of Tennessee at Martin.

Research shows that the college application and financial aid process often feels too complex, causing many students to give up before completing their applications. One in four students start an application but never finish.

Tennessee’s Direct Admissions Pilot is the first in the nation to directly connect automatic college admissions with state-supported and merit-based financial aid. The goal is to help students clearly see where they’ve been accepted and how they can afford to enroll, increasing the likelihood they’ll attend college in the fall.

THEC and partners will use this pilot initiative as a research study to assess how different types of information affect students’ decisions to enroll in college.