In an effort to ensure residents have the education and training to thrive in an evolving economy, Tennessee has teamed up with Lumina Foundation's State Attainment Collaborative. Tennessee joins a group of progressive states committed to revising or setting goals that emphasize postsecondary education resulting in substantial learning and career prospects. The collaboration aims to accelerate progress toward the ambitious Goal 2040, which aims for three-fourths of the U.S. labor force to hold college degrees or valued credentials in the next fifteen years, according to an announcement by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
The collaborative presents Tennessee with the chance to work closely with leaders from various sectors — including education, business, civic, nonprofit, and policy realms — from 12 other states. These states are Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. Collectively, they will strive to define the intrinsic worth of credentials, update educational attainment goals, and to better align policies and programs that will support the diverse needs of today's students, as reported by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
Dr. Steven Gentile, THEC's Executive Director, highlighted the state’s focus on education as the cornerstone of both economic development and individual opportunity. "By joining Lumina’s collaborative, we are reaffirming our commitment to ensuring every Tennessean has access to valuable learning and training that lead to great careers and stronger communities," Dr. Gentile told the Tennessee Higher Education Commission website.
Since Lumina Foundation first set the national post-high school attainment goal in 2008, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of working-age adults with college degrees or short-term credentials, climbing from 39 percent to 55 percent. "Setting clear goals for increasing degrees and workforce credentials demonstrates Tennessee’s commitment to expanding opportunity and strengthening its economy,” Michelle Asha Cooper, Vice President for Public Policy at Lumina, emphasized the importance of setting quantifiable targets to propel Tennessee's educational and economic ambitions forward, as stated by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
Participation in this venture implies that Tennessee is earnest about ensuring education beyond high school is more than just a certificate — it is about realizing meaningful results for its citizens, and by extension, reinforcing the state's economic fabric and workforce. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission, a body established back in 1967, operates with the mission to elevate the number of residents with a postsecondary qualification, emphasizing the importance of higher education as a public policy imperative.
Meanwhile, the Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation continues to work on the broader agenda of making postsecondary learning accessible to all, shaping an educational system whose credentials are in sync with national talent needs and which equips people for success in the global economy, as per the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
