Tennessee state colleges maintain record award pace

Tennessee community and technical colleges continued awarding degrees, diplomas and certificates at record levels this year despite the pandemic.

• Data released last week showed a combined 22,956 given out during the latest academic year, only one behind last year's all-time high.

Why it matters: Boosting graduation numbers has been a top goal at state colleges for years since that's when students can harness their education for better jobs and earnings.

• TBR Executive Vice Chancellor Russ Deaton told Axios he was "pleasantly surprised" to see those numbers stay high even as enrollment slowed.

Reality check: Enrollment trends show trouble ahead.

• Community college enrollment dropped by nearly 10% last fall. Early numbers show a drop of nearly 9% this fall.
• Technical college enrollment did increase, driven in part by high school interest in dual enrollment courses. But it wasn't enough to offset community college losses.

What's next: Deaton said college officials are currently grappling with how to stop the slide.

• "I don't think there's a good sense yet of how we arrest that trend or what the causes of that are," Deaton told Axios.