Nursing News, Tennessee News
Free Community College Becomes Tennessee Law; Nursing’s Impact
For the first time in Tennessee history, resident adult learners will have the option for free higher education. On Wednesday, Governor Bill Haslam signed into law the Tennessee Reconnect Grant. Adults over the age of 25 or those who qualify as “independent”, will have the opportunity to enter or reenter public higher education at no cost.
Tennessee Reconnect is set to officially take effect in Fall 2018 but students can begin taking advantage in a few months. Eligibility requirements can be found at here.
Reconnect is an extension of Gov. Haslam’s Drive to 55, which is a mission to get 55% of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate by 2025. This critical legislation will bolster the governor’s commitment to Tennessee’s future workforce and economic development.
The question remains for many Tennesseans is how will this impact our healthcare workforce? According to the Projections Central, a site the works collaboratively with the Bureau of Labor Statistics and individual state Employment Projections offices to predict occupations employment projections, Tennessee will experience a job growth of +24.6% through 2024 with the national average being +16% among registered nurse jobs.
With a predicted shortage of nurses nationally and an even greater shortage in Tennessee, this legislation appears to be a win for the state. Thank you Governor Haslam for your insight and commitment to improve the overall education of Tennesseans. This act of legislation is sure to have a direct impact of the overall health and wells of our residents.
For more info on Tennessee Reconnect, click here for infographic. Free Community College Becomes Tennessee Law
By: Tory Neal, RN BSN MHA CPTC
Tory Neal is the Founder and CEO of Motivello Nurse Staffing as well as a travel nurse and organ procurement and transplant coordinator. Motivello is a travel and specialty healthcare staffing firm based in Memphis TN and serves nurses and healthcare employers across Tennessee and nationwide.
For more information on Motivello Nurse Staffing please visit http://motivello.com or call 901-969-4618 today. Connect with us on social media below.
5 Comments
Donald Darby
This is great step towards raising the “bar” in TN. The true impact will be felt in the comming years when those that take advantage of this enter back into the work force utilizing their higher education. The community and finacial impact may never truely be quantified, but it not all about numbers
Dee Williams
This is what we need to fill the skills gap and talent shortage. Laws like this and training programs are imperative at this point in the juncture. For our children and future generations to come, for them to have the luxuries that we have now and so much more, we’ve got to expand our knowledge. Keep learning, keep asking and keep dreaming. Great article
Tory Neal
Absolutely. I totally agree this is a great opportunity for our children and generations to come.
Renaldo Summerset
Great post. This does appear to be a step in the right directions and I hope more states are encouraged by this!
Tory Neal
Renaldo I agree. Im hopeful more states will adopt this model which is sure to improve the workforce candidate pool as well as give the economy a boost.