Upskilling Nashville Adults with TCASN

     Nashville’s population and economy have grown significantly, with a 14.2 percent increase from 2010 to 2020. However, many residents feel left behind. Research from IMAGINE Nashville shows that 57 percent of low-income families feel excluded from the city's growth. Additionally, up to 250,000 Nashville adults need education services. The GOAL Collective, part of the TN College Access and Success Network, is a group of over 25 adult education providers in Middle Tennessee. From July 2023 to June 2024, GOAL Collective served over 7,000 learners, helping them achieve educational and personal milestones. While these achievements are significant, there is still a need to support learners in advancing to higher-wage positions. Educational attainment levels are often linked to earnings. The average annual earnings by attainment level are $35,500 for less than a high school diploma; $41,800 for a high school diploma; $45,200 for some college but no degree; $49,500 for an associate degree; and $66,600 for a bachelor's degree. By encouraging, equipping, and supporting learners to attain postsecondary certifications and degrees that will create increased opportunities for upward economic mobility, we can help them move beyond low-wage careers to pursue their place in Nashville’s booming economy.

    Through Upskilling Nashville Adults with TCASN, we will partner with GOAL Collective organizations to recruit adult learners who are unemployed or underemployed. We will provide wrap-around services, including academic and career advising, basic needs assistance, and emergency grants, to support their enrollment, persistence, and completion of degree or certification programs at Nashville State Community College(NSCC) or the Tennessee College of Applied Technology – Nashville(TCAT). These colleges have strong ties to local employers and will help connect students to higher-wage job opportunities. TCASN has previously partnered with NSCC to offer similar services through Nashville GRAD and Nashville Flex, with success. However, adult learners often remain unaware of these opportunities, as most recruitment targets traditional, recent high school graduates. Adults aged 23 or older who meet eligibility requirements can receive the TN Reconnect Grant to cover tuition and fees for an associate degree. Despite this, low-income students still face challenges like housing, childcare, transportation, and healthcare costs. To address these barriers, Upskilling Nashville Adults will provide loaner laptops, dedicated success advisors, monthly stipends for transportation, and book/supplies stipends each semester, ensuring adult learners can access and complete their education.

Upskilling Nashville Adults with TCASN serves low-income adult learners (ages 28+) with a high school diploma or equivalency (GED/HiSET), who meet one of these criteria: a) no higher education degree or certification, b) a degree or certification from another country not recognized in the U.S., or c) a degree in a low-wage, low-demand field and a desire to upskill.

The program provides essential wrap-around supports to help participants succeed in higher education. Participants will receive: a dedicated advisor for academic and career guidance (meeting twice a month), a monthly stipend for fuel and groceries, a book stipend, access to emergency funds, and a peer network. Upon completion of their degree or certification, participants will gain new career opportunities. The program also connects them to local employers and encourages their family members to pursue education as well. Participants' family members will be directed to resources like Nashville GRAD, Nashville Flex, and GOAL Collective partners to help them re-engage in the education pipeline.

     TCASN serves as the backbone organization for GOAL Collective and has extensive experience in creating and implementing similar programs with multiple partners. TCASN provided the data and research that lead to the creation of Nashville GRAD at Nashville State Community College in 2018. Seeing the need to better serve the majority of NSCC students, TCASN partnered with NSCC to establish Nashville Flex in 2022 to provide similar wrap-around supports to part-time students. Additionally, TCASN’s MIRA (Minority, Immigrant, Refugee and New American) college access program, brings “place-based,” Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) programs into neighborhoods, hosted at trusted community organizations, removing time and transportation barriers. TCASN covers all tuition and material costs for MIRA participants while also providing them with a weekly stipend to help cover a reduction in hours worked to attend class. 

     TCASN staff are nationally recognized college access and success experts. Our combined staff experience in the field totals more than 50 years. We have a long-standing position as a trusted source and partner among stakeholders working in college access and success. GOAL Collective and TCASN actively seek input from the communities and individuals we serve. GOAL Collective has a dedicated "learner engagement" working group that is fully committed to learner leadership, and TCASN regularly surveys program participants to learn ways to improve our services. 

    TCASN has successfully implemented both Nashville Flex and MIRA within the Nashville community. Nashville Flex (60+ beneficiaries) is now fully funded by Metro Nashville City Council. MIRA (35 beneficiaries) is currently funded by the Scarlett Family Foundation. Additionally, we have assisted with the implementation of Nashville GRAD which has serves 325+ students annually. While these programs have celebrated great success and are continuing to do so this year, we have yet to implement a program that is directly targeting adult learners working with GOAL Collective organizations. TCASN is excited to partner with adult learners who are committed to advancing their education through GOAL Collective and higher education opportunities with NSCC and TCAT Nashville. We believe by working with GOAL Collective, we will be able to provide committed learners with the resources and support they need to attain their long-term goals.

While Upskilling Nashville Adults does not yet have a program website, the program so closely reflects Nashville Flex, Nashville GRAD and MIRA that we are including links to these programs. Links to TCASN and GOAL Collective are also included below.

Nashville Flex: https://www.nscc.edu/tuition-a...

Nashville Flex on TCASN: https://www.tncollegeaccess.or...

Nashville GRAD: https://www.nscc.edu/tuition-a...

MIRA: https://www.tncollegeaccess.or...

GOAL Collective: https://www.goalcollective.org...

TCASN: https://www.tncollegeaccess.or...

Re-engaging adults in higher education is difficult. Additionally, adult education is rarely on the forefront of philanthropic and government agendas. Adults have numerous barriers including but not limited to work commitments, lack of time, dependents, transportation, etc. Upskilling Nashville Adults with TCASN will engage current adult learners who have already committed their time and efforts to gaining educational and personal goals through GOAL Collective organizations. These learners have made sacrifices to obtain those outcomes, and Upskilling Nashville Adults will help support them as they continue to do so in their journey to obtain a higher education degree or certification. Our program will take committed adult learners and provide them the necessary wrap-around supports (as previously listed) to reach attainment and enter a high-wage, high-quality, high-demand career field. By equipping more adult learners with higher education degrees and certificates, we can increase earnings among low-income populations and create a stronger pipeline of Nashville locals in the Nashville workforce.

Impact Goal: Create economic opportunities for low-income Nashville adults.

Indicators:

• Participation in a GOAL Collective education program
• Enrollment in a higher education program
  
• Persistence/Retention in higher education program
• Completion of higher education program
• Entry into career field of choice upon program completion

We will use GOAL Collectives database, NSCC's enrollment database, TCATs enrollment database, the National Student Clearinghouse Database, and participant survey information to collect these indicators.

The TCASN team consists of three TCASN staff members and two GOAL Collective staff members. Our solution team also includes one team member from Nashville State Community College and one team member from TCAT Nashville. All seven team members work at their organization's full time. Each member of the solution team will dedicate a portion of their time to Upskilling Nashville Adults.

In 2018, TCASN assisted NSCC with the launch of Nashville GRAD. In 2021, TCASN became the backbone organization for GOAL Collective. In 2022, TCASN assisted NSCC with the launch of Nashville Flex and launched MIRA. Since the early 2024, we have been strategizing and discussing the opportunity to launch a program like these targeted specifically at adult learners but have lacked the funding to do so. 

     TCASN has a relentless dedication to equity. Our board of directors (https://www.tncollegeaccess.org/board-of-directors) includes the following diversity: 46% Black, 8% Asian, 8% Latinx, and 38% White; 62% males and 38% female. Our staff demographic breakdown is 20% Black, 80% White; 60% female and 40% male. With an unprecedented number of education bills targeting LGBTQ+ Tennesseans, TCASN is proud to have LGBTQ+ representation on both the staff and board. Data show (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272775719302791) that LGBT students are less likely to graduate from high school and attend college, have lower educational expectations, a lower sense of belonging, and experience discrimination at higher rates. TCASN remains committed to equity for all students and will pursue advocacy and programming that address improving equity gaps while prioritizing the diversity of our board and staff. All team members are encouraged to seek and participate in professional development opportunities and pursue upward movement within the organization when available.

We provide easy access to postsecondary opportunities for low-income individuals that take into account the barriers to pursuing a degree or certification, while balancing against the survival realities (through wrap-around supports) of trying to maintain a job and family while pursuing it. Vanderbilt University research of our model highlights the need and importance of the fact that we provide our services through individuals who form trusting, transformational (not transactional) relationships with our participants. Our participants need these supports because they often live at or below the poverty line and are unable to pursue higher education due to the high cost of attending college. For more information on this, please see our report, Counting the Cost. Additionally, our participants need an individual who knows their name, their situation, their struggles, their dreams, their likes and dislikes, who can expertly help them navigate the complex higher education system. They, as we all do, need someone who believes in them and will walk beside them daily on the path to success. Our model also takes into account the current workforce needs of the community so businesses benefit and the individuals immediately have job prospects upon completion.

Nashville GRAD and Nashville Flex, the programs on which Upskilling Nashville Adults are based were initially funded through grant funds and are now sustained by Nashville City Council’s annual budget due to their proven success. As Upskilling Nashville Adults results are available, we will work diligently to obtain fiscal support from:

• Businesses – Many employers in the area have shown interest in investing in training programs for current and future employees.
• Local and state governments – TCASN has excellent relationships with the TN Higher Education Commission, the TN Board of Regents, and Mayor Freddy O’Connell’s office. 
• Other philanthropic organizations - As previously mentioned, the MIRA program is currently funded by a middle Tennessee foundation.

 to sustain and scale the program beyond the life of the grant.

The Truist Foundation Inspire Awards process provides TCASN with the opportunity to refine our business, something we have needed to scale our successful practices. Additionally, TCASN values relationships above all else. Since our inception, TCASN has prioritized relationships and establishing trust with partners. The Truist Foundation Inspire Awards’ community of practice will provide us with the opportunity to form more relationships with amazing partners who can share their expertise and with whom we can share ours.  The Truist Foundation Award will help drive national attention to the need to provide college access and support services to adult learners. So often college access and success efforts are directed at high school seniors, but poverty is often generational. Equipping adults with credentials and higher education diplomas in high-wage, high-demand, high-quality fields can lead to increased opportunities for all family members, especially dependents who witness their guardians achieve their educational goals.