44 Tennessee Colleges Carry State Seal for Serving Veterans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Veterans heading to college in Tennessee have 44 campuses that carry a state seal for serving them, and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission used Veterans Day to put that list in front of the public.

Three schools hold the higher VETS Bravo rank: Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, East Tennessee State University in Johnson City and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Upper Cumberland. To reach that level, a school must have held regular VETS Campus status for three straight years and add peer mentoring, career services built around veterans, training for its campus liaison and a habit of using student feedback to adjust what it offers.

Another 41 schools are VETS Campuses. They include 13 technical college campuses, from Athens and Elizabethton to Jackson and Pulaski, and 13 community colleges, among them Chattanooga State, Dyersburg State, Pellissippi State, Volunteer State and Walters State.

Seven private schools are on the list: Belmont, Bryan College, Carson-Newman, Christian Brothers, Lane College, Lipscomb and Maryville College. So are eight public universities, including Middle Tennessee State, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech, the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Martin, plus the UT Health Science Center.

The program dates to a 2014 state law, the Tennessee Veterans Education Transition Support Act. A designated school has to survey its student veterans every year, brief faculty and staff on military culture, run orientation and mentoring for veterans and reach out to nearby military bases. It also needs a process that turns military training and experience into academic credit and must explain that option on its website.

Schools then file a yearly report with the state by July 31 listing how many veterans are enrolled, what they are studying, how many finish a degree or credential and which courses line up with military training. The Bravo tier opened to campuses in July 2024.

Commission Executive Director Steven Gentile said in the agency announcement that Tennessee wants every veteran chasing a credential to get the help needed to finish it. The commission ties the effort to its 2025 to 2035 higher education master plan.

Filed under: Knoxville TN Education News