Executive Director Leadership Profile 2023

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LEADERSHIP PROFILE 2023

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) seeks an accomplished, collaborative, visionary leader to serve as the Executive Director of the agency. The Executive Director is the CEO for both the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) both headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee with a state-wide presence throughout Tennessee. The Executive Director reports to a Commission composed of nine voting members and the state Constitutional Officers (Comptroller of the Treasury, State Treasurer, and Secretary of State) who serve as ex-officio voting members and one voting student member. The Executive Director of the State Board of Education serves as an ex-officio non-voting member.

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation are instrumental organizations in the state of Tennessee focusing on shaping and improving higher education. These organizations collaborate with the government, institutions, and stakeholders to establish strategic plans, allocate funds, manage academic portfolios, and enhance public information related to higher education. The executive director is the public voice for post-secondary education and is expected to articulate and champion the educational advancement for all Tennesseans.

The agency’s mission is to elevate the educational credentials of Tennesseans. Tennessee enjoys a robust economy building on a better educated workforce. THEC’s responsibility as a central player among state agencies is to deliver on behalf of post-secondary institutions the educational opportunities needed for that workforce. This position is an opportunity to disrupt old models of higher education to innovate a host of means for that delivery (e.g., promotion of competency-based curriculum, assessment of prior learning, better and more robust transfer pathways, and development of alternative credentials).

THEC plays a crucial role in managing the financial aspects of higher education. The agency oversees the statewide financial masterplan, ensuring accountability, student-centered fiscal awareness, and responsible management of appropriations. THEC has the authority to set tuition ranges for public postsecondary institutions that has resulted in historically low tuition increases over the past eight years, making Tennessee one of the most affordable states in the South for higher education. The next executive director should continue to place affordable student success as a priority.

For more than a decade, higher education in Tennessee has seen unparallel legislative support and state investments. Capital investment alone has amounted to $4.5 billion across 100 projects plus maintenance, safety and security funds since 2016. The agency is responsible for an innovative Outcomes Based Formula that distributes more than $1.4B operational funding on institutional performance. TSAC administers twenty different aid packages for students valued at $570M. Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect, have gained national recognition as pioneering and successful models. The executive director is responsible for assuring prudent fiscal management of these resources and championing support to continue to meet the post-secondary needs of the state.

This position offers a competitive benefits package that includes health, dental and vision insurance; life insurance; opportunities to participate in deferred compensation plans; state provided vehicle; retirement benefits; Employee Assistance Program; paid leave as well as many other programs that can enhance an employee’s personal and family well-being. For more information on benefits offered, visit www.tn.gov/partnersforhealth

THE MASTER PLAN FOR TENNESSEE POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION 2015-2025

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) is the coordinating body for higher education in Tennessee and is responsible for creating the statewide master plan for higher education. The current master plan, “Postsecondary Attainment in the Decade of Decision,” focused on educational attainment, specifically the Drive to 55, which is the goal to get 55 percent of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential by 2025. This plan identifies student groups requiring policy attention (adults, low income, academically underprepared, and nonwhite) and sets sector-specific production targets to meet the Drive to 55.

In January 2020, THEC released an update to this master plan, “Enabling the Competitive Edge: Tennessee higher Education in the New Economy.” This update reflects strategies underway across Tennessee higher education designed to support the achievement of our state’s attainment goals. In alignment with the structure of the master plan update, Investing in Tennessee: the Postsecondary Education Strategic Financial Plan, also known as the strategic financial plan (SFP), sets a complementary goal to make Tennessee the most affordable place in the south for higher education. Instead of identifying current strategies and practices, the SFP identifies policy ideas to reduce student burden and promote efficiency and stability informed by current foundational practices already in place in Tennessee.

The overriding function of the Plan is to direct higher education to be accountable for increasing the educational attainment levels of Tennesseans, while also: addressing the state’s economic development, workforce development, and research needs; ensuring increased degree production within the state’s capacity to support higher education; and using institutional mission differentiation to realize statewide efficiencies through institutional collaboration and minimized redundancy in degree offerings, instructional locations, and competitive research.

The organizing framework of the 2015-2025 Plan is that it:

1) makes the case for continued, focused pursuit of the Drive to 55, Tennessee’s college completion policy agenda;

2) takes stock of important achievements to date since passage of the Complete College Tennessee Act (CCTA) of 2010;

3) calculates statewide and sector specific degree and certificate production targets necessary for meeting the statewide goal;

4) recognizes four historically underserved student populations (adults, low income, academically underprepared, nonwhite) worthy of focused policy and programmatic attention throughout the coming decade;

5) identifies tools and strategies for serving these students; and

6) offers observations and recommendations intended to guide policymakers, system leaders, and campuses as they carry out their appropriate roles relative to Drive to 55 goal attainment.

Although this Plan places certificate training and undergraduate education at the center of the state’s college completion policy agenda for the decade 2015-2025, the state continues to acknowledge the critical need for academic programs of distinction at the graduate and professional level to fully address Tennessee’s economic development, workforce, and research needs.

THEC has the scope to manage the statewide financial masterplan to maintain stewardship, accountability, student-centered fiscal awareness, and sound management of appropriations in order to ensure Tennessee is the most affordable state in the South for higher education. Leveraging the authority to determine the binding tuition ranges for public postsecondary institutions, tuition increases have been held to historically low levels since the plan’s creation.

TENNESSEE HIGHER EDUCATION LANDSCAPE

Higher education in Tennessee is comprised o f 11 public universities, 13 community colleges, and 26 Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs). There are also 23 private colleges that do not fall under THEC jurisdiction, but do provide exceptional education to students . The map below depicts the main campus locations for each o f these institutions. S everal campuses also have satellite locations, which allow institutions to serve Tennesseans in their own local communities. Whil e e ach o f these institution s serv e unique and divers e studen t populations , Tennessee i s committe d to continu e prioritizin g inclusio n an d equit y for all studen ts .

PUBLIC FOUR-YEAR

COMMUNITY COLLEGE

THE TENNESSEE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION

The General Assembly, with the support of higher education leaders, created the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) for the express purpose of establishing the state’s strategic plan for higher education, allocating the distribution of appropriated funds for operations and capital, managing the academic portfolio, stewarding the state’s financial aid portfolio, and the developing a program for public information. While institutions maintain operational authority through their respective governing boards, the Administration and General Assembly rely on THEC and TSAC as the distinct and independent policy resource for the State.

The overview detailed below represents the ongoing work of the THEC and TSAC agencies. This work is widely and nationally recognized as models for other states and THEC/TSAC is frequently called upon to assist like agencies across the country. In the past five years THEC/TSAC has had individual program leaders and, as a whole, formally recognized as the best in the country by the leading associations. The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), THEC’s primary professional association, awarded THEC the Exceptional Agency Award in 2020. The Southern Legislative Conference awarded THEC the State Transformation in Action Recognition (STAR) Award three consecutive years: in 2017 for Prioritizing Student Veterans Program; in 2018 for Tennessee Promise; and in 2019 for Tennessee Reconnect. THEC coordinates the state’s higher education enterprise while maintaining the integrity of each institution’s governing authority.

THEC’s home office is located in the center of downtown Nashville, directly adjacent to the State Capitol. While the leadership team is based in our Nashville location, our THEC team spans across the entire state, from Memphis to Mountain City.

The Tennessee Higher Education Commission is comprised of five bureaus: Academic Affairs & Student Success, Access & Outreach, Finance & Administration, Legal & External Affairs, and Policy, Planning & Research. The Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation handles all student aid and compliance.

Academic Affairs & Student Success

The Bureau of Academic Affairs and Student Success is responsible for ensuring quality academic programs and initiatives across the state. Several of these functions are codified in statute, while others are areas of strategic interest and expertise for the Bureau. Below is an overview of some of those responsibilities, projects, and initiatives.

Academic Affairs Policies and Processes: THEC is statutorily responsible for the approval of New Academic Programs, Academic Units, and Off-Campus Instructional locations. Recently, the Academic Affairs team has been working to revise THEC Academic Policies to reflect the following priorities:

1. Increase efficiency, while maintaining statutory responsibility and programmatic quality.

2. Align THEC policy with SACSCOC standards, where possible.

3. Increase communication with campus partners.

4. Promote meaningful stakeholder engagement.

5. Ensure workforce alignment.

Academic Common Market (ACM): The Academic Common Market is a tuition-savings program for college students who live in the 16 states that are members of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). The ACM allows students to pay in-state tuition to study in a program not offered in their home state, provided they have been accepted into an approved degree program at a participating ACM institution.

Academic Program Inventory (API): THEC maintains the state’s academic program inventory for all public, postsecondary institutions.

Articulation and Transfer Initiatives: Under the auspices of the statewide Articulation and Transfer Council, THEC has created several subcouncils, comprised of stakeholders from various postsecondary institutions, including Common Course Numbering, Technical Tennessee Transfer Pathways, and Reverse Transfer.

Black Male Success Initiative (BMSI): The Black Male Success Initiative was established in 2021 to address the significant gaps in the postsecondary attainment rates for Black men in Tennessee.

General Education: THEC is planning to increase the focus on the coordination of general education initiatives among Tennessee’s postsecondary institutions to ensure ease of transfer, equity, and quality in general education revision and initiatives.

Post-Approval Monitoring and Program Productivity Redesign Taskforce: In response to feedback from the Commission, and in an effort to reconceptualize what constitutes a high performing program, THEC has been convening a group of institutional stakeholders to create definitions and associated metrics to serve as a gauge of how healthy academic programs are across Tennessee’s public colleges and universities.

Quality Non-Degree Credentials: THEC has been leading a statewide team that has been focusing on the value of non-traditional postsecondary credentials including, but not limited to, industry certifications, occupational licenses, apprenticeships, certificates, and other non-degree training programs.

Textbook Affordability: Current textbook affordability efforts are structured to promote the adoption, adaptation, curation, and creation of inclusive, accessible, and high-quality open and low-cost instructional materials.

Tennessee Accreditation Network (TAN): THEC coordinates the Tennessee Accreditation Network which is comprised of SACSCOC accreditation liaisons primarily across the State of Tennessee but is open to any SACSCOC accredited institutions. The work of the network is dedicated to improving the academic quality, accountability, and evaluation processes of member institutions and exists to support accreditation efforts at both public and private institutions.

Veteran Transition and Outreach: The primary goals of these programs are to accelerate the success of veterans already enrolled on Tennessee campuses and create favorable conditions to recruit new student veterans. This work includes the following programs and initiatives: Tennessee’s ServiceMember Opportunity Portal (TN-SOP), Veteran Reconnect Conference, Veteran Reconnect Grant, and VETS Campus Certification.

Workforce and Economic Development: Recognizing the role postsecondary institutions play in driving economic development and preparing Tennesseans for the jobs of today and the future, THEC’s Workforce Development team seeks to promote economic growth and provide a skilled workforce with a specific focus on higher education institutions. Specific grant programs include the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) and Supporting Postsecondary Access in Rural Counties (SPARC).

Access & Outreach

CollegeforTN.org website: A comprehensive information resource for prospective students and parents about college going choices, cost information, workforce aligned programs, military options, and financial aid. The website also serves as a conduit of resources for school counselors, college access agencies, and postsecondary institutions.

AdviseTN: currently serves more than 13,000 students annually in 28 schools with high touch advising that has led to radical success in FAFSA filing, Promise applications, and success in collegegoing rate growth. Current year metrics include more than 25,000 advising sessions, 93% TN Promise application completion rate, FAFSA submission rate of 89.6 % (20 schools were above the state average of 85.7%), and college-going rate increased by 3.1% over 2021, doubling the statewide increase.

GEAR UP TN: THEC manages the $24.5 million federal grant. Recognized as the nation’s leading program, it serves more than 6,000 students in 17 high schools providing direct services to students and their families. Prior grant cycles have resulted in more than 600,000 hours of engagement, a 10-percentage point increase in the college going rate and an increase in postsecondary retention of more than 8%. GEAR UP TN has provided more than 4.2 million hours of services to more than 72,000 students since 2005. GEAR UP grant funds allow THEC to provide statewide services, support, and printed resources to schools across the state.

Re-entry Navigators: THEC staff working onsite at nine state prisons with more than 2,100 students to realize opportunities to pursue postsecondary education and connect them with support services in their communities upon release. Since the program’s inception, over 400 students have earned credentials through the Re-entry program.

Navigate Reconnect: THEC staff working with adult learners across the state to leverage resources and the TN Reconnect grant to pursue postsecondary opportunities. THEC engages in more than 8,000 communications each month with 6,000 students and has assisted 4,300 adults to attain a postsecondary credential since 2018.

Financial Aid Outreach: THEC financial aid experts deployed across the state conducting workshops and events to help students and parents complete the FAFSA and state financial aid applications, and in support of AdviseTN, GEAR UP, Navigate Reconnect, high school counselors, admissions staff, and financial aid staff in their college access efforts. In the past six months alone, THEC has reached 24,000 traditional students, 13,000 adult learners and has helped facilitate the largest application cohort for TN Promise since the program’s inception in 2013.

HBCU Success Initiative: Managed by THEC’s HBCU Success Director (the first position of its kind at a state higher education agency in the nation), the initiative’s purpose is to strengthen the capacity of Tennessee’s HBCUs to provide the highest quality education, increase opportunities for these institutions to benefit from state programs, and ensure that Tennessee has the highest proportion of college graduates from HBCUs in the country. The director works closely with the state’s seven HBCUs and a Board of Advisors, appointed by THEC, to guide the Initiative in its work toward these goals.

Finance & Administration

Finance & Administration oversees several of the agency’s primary areas including accounting of more than $750 million of state and lottery expenditures. In addition, the fiscal staff provide purchasing services to 126 THEC/TSAC staff members. The Bureau also includes three licensed architects to review and provide information on the facilities of all Tennessee public higher education institutions. Finally, the information systems and information technology staff provide services to all THEC/TSAC staff members and maintain over 30 databases used by higher education and K-12 institutions.

THEC, in collaboration with institution and state leaders, developed the current competitive capital outlay process that has resulted in the state investing $3.5 billion across 100 projects since 2016. The THEC process has ensured that every funded project can meet the state’s academic priorities and workforce development needs while limiting state expenditure. The process’s ability to identify and prioritize projects across eight different governing boards—and nearly 50 institutions—into one list yields a viable pool of projects for selection by the Administration and the General Assembly.

The projects listed on the THEC Capital Recommendation are considered viable as they are assessed and prioritized in alignment with statewide goals, presented for further consideration by the Administration and General Assembly in keeping with their respective priorities in any given appropriation cycle.

Legal & External Affairs

The Legal & External Affairs Bureau is responsible for providing legal counsel and technical support to the Commission, executive director, and staff. The bureau offers advice to agency staff, cyclical review of functions, and grant program execution support. The staff also oversees all contract administration functions, manages the agency administrative rulemaking processes, and performs a wide variety of regulatory functions, including subrecipient monitoring and Title VI compliance measures. They also administer the tuition discount and fee waiver programs and process public records requests.

Additionally, all human resources (HR) functions are conducted by the bureau, including employee recruitment and retention efforts, advising on talent allocation, employee training and development, all HR transactional work, and assisting leadership with personnel decision-making.

Governance

• Review THEC policy manual and guide agency leadership to ensure policies reflect best practices and current needs of commission, staff, institutions, and other higher education external stakeholders

• Re-examine commission’s parliamentary structure regarding term length and election of officers, as well as existing committee structure

• Adopt and execute a commission meeting format that supports adequate preparation and informed voting for commission members in an efficient manner

Legal Affairs

• Review current legislative planning process to establish a consistent strategy to ensure that all internal stakeholders are directly informed

• Strengthen pertinent alignments between legal and the commission’s program objectives for “ground floor” participation

• Review commission member onboarding process to identify opportunities for improvement

Human Resources

• Conduct review of workplace climate and culture, creating an accessible conduit for upward communication of employees’ concerns and goals; devise an action plan that improves the employer value proposition

• Assist in agency strategy around employee recruitment and retention

• Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) to support Kaizen or “good change” to encourage continuous improvement

Policy, Planning & Research

THEC’s Policy, Planning, and Research (PPR) bureau is responsible for leading the agency’s development of the master plan and strategic financial plan. As guiding documents for higher education across the state, these plans need to be grounded in data and research and developed collaboratively.

PPR is responsible for reporting and evaluation of the higher education enterprise (Fact Book), financial aid programs (lottery scholarships, TN Promise), articulation and transfer (A&T), and higher education’s alignment with workforce demand (Supply and Demand). In addition to mandated reporting and evaluation, the R&S team has identified additional data needs to increase awareness of higher

education data and challenges, including county profiles and college-going reports. Reporting and evaluation responsibilities help assess the condition of higher education and serve as a platform to communicate data and information to improve policy and practice.

To effectively report and evaluate policies and programs requires familiarity with the data collected and its quality. It is necessary to be able to analyze and interpret data to communicate that clearly for stakeholders. PPR provides decision support across the agency, offering data, analysis, cost estimates, and other information to support decision-making and planning for the agency’s mission.

PPR has realized these responsibilities through data strategy which refocuses our agency to the importance of data and its interconnectedness across the agency. This pillar of the R&S team is responsible for developing a vision for data collection, data quality, and data use. This work is actively indevelopment and is closely aligned with PPR’s responsibilities as the manager of higher education data. PPR manages the Data System (THECSIS). The system is a chronological integration of data collected across high school, post-secondary, and the operational sources maintained at THEC & TSAC, to deliver a uniform data ecosystem used as an information hub. It houses student related data including enrollment, completion, academic records, and financial aid information that serves as a backbone to outcome-based formula, legislative reports, meaningful insights, and a data driven policy making for THEC.

As a coordinating body, relationship maintenance is important and necessary to effectively manage responsibilities. PPR collaborates closely with other state agencies and system/institution offices to enhance, validate, and share THEC/TSAC’s work. There are examples of explicit partnerships, with TDLWD and TNECD, to understand how higher education is contributing to workforce needs. There are also implicit partnerships across institutional research to continuously evolve our understanding of the data collected and data needed to answer important questions. These relationships allow for information sharing improving the quality of our work and its connectedness to colleges and students.

PPR innovates through partnerships with researchers and other SHEEOs to improve our practice, rigorously evaluate, and enhance our understanding of TN-specific policies and programs. This involves keeping up to date on research and policy formation nationwide, learning from peers, and advocating for resources and tools to promote TN-specific research, like grant funds to facilitate academic research and utilization of our statewide longitudinal data system.

PPR oversees the Outcomes Based Funding (OBF) formula, which distributes $1.5 billion in operational funding based on student access and success metrics. It is the nation’s first outcomes model and still the only model that moves 100% of appropriations based upon outcomes. Since its inception, Tennessee public institutions have seen overall increases across metrics aligned to state goals in both university and community college sector. The OBF’s success centers on rewarding institutions for implementing student success-oriented best practices.

By analyzing affordability and financial trends, PPR exercises the agency’s responsibility of setting binding tuition and fee ranges that apply to all public institutions’ in-state, undergraduate tuition and fee rates. Coupled with its OBF oversight, PPR is charged with monitoring and assessing institutional financial health.

Tennessee was the first state to utilize quality metrics in state funding; for over 40 years, Quality Assurance Funding (QAF) has provided incentives for all public colleges and universities to measure student learning and institutional effectiveness as part of the continuous improvement

process. QAF works hand-in-hand with the Outcomes Based Funding (OBF) formula, complementing OBF by providing an incentive for growth in outcomes paired with a focus on quality. QAF emphasizes maintaining quality institutional programs and developing a climate in which all students can succeed.

THEC has significant engagement across the education continuum in Tennessee working, to ensure all students are exposed to rigorous standards, high quality educators, and experiences that will set them up for postsecondary success. THEC works closely with the State Board of Education on educator preparation provider quality and polices to ensure access and alignment of early postsecondary opportunities to K12 student needs. THEC also works closely with community organizations like the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA), and the Tennessee Inclusive Higher Education Alliance (TIHEA) to develop research-based best practices and work to ensure all Tennesseans are able to meet their educational goals.

Student Aid & Compliance (Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation)

TSAC manages approximately $570 million across 20 scholarship and grant programs at 100 public and private Tennessee postsecondary institutions. Currently around three in every five Tennessee students utilize one or more of our financial aid programs.

The Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect programs are the first and most successful programs of their type in the nation and are model programs imitated nationally. Tennessee’s comprehensive financial aid programs provide for an array of student population groups, including foster children, veterans, high school dual enrollment, special needs, adult learners, high academic achievers, and low-income students.

TSAC and THEC have led the development and implementation of every significant expansion of financial aid opportunity in keeping with the student success and workforce alignment goals of the state. TSAC also manages a compliance review and training process to ensure responsible use and implementation of state resources by the institutions.

The Veterans Education Division acts as the Tennessee State Approving Agency (SAA) for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and is responsible for approving and monitoring programs of education and training offered within the state to those who are eligible for GI Bill benefits.

The Regulatory Compliance Division ensures compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements among the private, for-profit postsecondary institutions in the state. This division also serves as the portal entity for the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) while providing staff support to facilitate institution application, approval, and reporting in accordance with NC-SARA and SREB guidelines.

The Division of Postsecondary State Authorization (DPSA) oversees and monitors private proprietary, for-profit, and not-for-profit schools offering training or education leading to a vocation, college credit or issuance of an educational credential. Authorization may be granted to both degree and non-degree granting institutions and encompasses a wide variety of schools such as: academic, trade, technical, career, professional, and out-of-state institutions with presence, advertisement, and/or recruitment practices in Tennessee.

ROLE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Executive Director of THEC/TSAC is responsible for setting an ambitious vision for Tennessee higher education, including measurable goals aligned to the state’s economic and workforce demands and high-priority strategies to meet and exceed those goals.

This individual must be driven by a fundamental belief that every Tennessean has both the right and the ability to successfully complete a postsecondary credential. An effective leader will possess a courageous, innovative mindset, and will focus not only on improving our traditional higher education systems, but also developing and implementing innovative approaches, partnerships and adopting new models, meeting Tennessee students where they are, and continuing to position Tennessee as a national leader in higher education.

The Executive Director must facilitate cross-agency collaboration and community-wide engagements, across postsecondary institutions, Department of Education, Department of Labor & Workforce Development, other Tennessee state agencies, policymakers, and community stakeholders. This role must partner with postsecondary institutions while also holding them accountable to the state’s goals and student needs. It is the role of the Executive Director to not only facilitate strong relationships and alignment across sectors, but also to challenge the postsecondary sector to provide high quality education and training to ensure successful futures for Tennessee students. This requires a mindset of continuous improvement, including the use of state data systems to identify areas for improvement and regularly establish ambitious goals that ensure all Tennesseans can both access and succeed in higher education.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide inspired leadership organization-wide coalescing around strong culture and team accomplishment.

• Develop and implement a strategic vision and long-term goals for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

• Develop and lead the state in innovative postsecondary policies and practices that position Tennessee as an exemplar and leader in higher education access, success, completion, and workforce alignment.

• Hold postsecondary partners across the state accountable to providing gold standard education and training that ultimately equips students for successful career opportunities.

• Lead cross-agency efforts to improve student outcomes, including stronger connections between all postsecondary systems, K-12, and economic and workforce development partners.

JOB DUTIES

• Act as the primary spokesperson for THEC including all communications with the Tennessee Legislature, the Office of the Governor, institutional representatives and governing boards, business, media, civic, and other public entities on matters affecting higher education

• Supervise the administration of the various student assistance programs.

• Supervise the review of budget requests from all postsecondary governing boards and the development of a consolidated appropriations recommendation for all postsecondary education.

• Closely collaborate with K-12 partners to improve alignment between higher education and K-12, including increasing access to early postsecondary opportunities and other research-based, innovative learning strategies.

• Continuously collect and evaluate labor and workforce data to inform postsecondary practices and ensure cross-sector alignment; collaborate closely with workforce partners to better understand and meet statewide labor needs.

• Supervise the establishment and maintenance of the state college and university student data information system.

• Maintain and continuously assess P-20 data to establish statewide higher education and economic goals, including the closure of historic and persistent gaps in student success by demographics.

• Review long- and short-range financial analyses, e.g., develop budget recommendations and appropriations bills to determine progress and status in obtaining objectives, revise objectives and plans in accordance with current conditions.

• Maintain a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with the Presidents, Chancellors, and boards of institutions of higher education in Tennessee.

• Present briefings, reports, and recommendations to the THEC/TSAC boards.

• Coordinate the participation of the State of Tennessee in national or regional reciprocity agreements.

• Serve as an ex-officio member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, State Board of Education, Board of Trustees of the Baccalaureate Education System Trust, Chairs of Excellence, and Tennessee Apprenticeship Council.

• Serve as the liaison to the Southern Regional Education Board.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

A minimum of five years of progressively responsible state-level policy leadership experience in higher education. Prior experience on a postsecondary campus preferred.

A master’s degree is required, and a terminal degree is preferred. Requires a demonstrated understanding of Tennessee public, private and proprietary postsecondary education.

Ability to understand and function within a highly charged political environment. Meet acceptable standards of accuracy, neatness, efficiency, effectiveness, and thoroughness as established by the agency.

OPPORTUNITIES & EXPECTATIONS FOR LEADERSHIP

Develop a New Strategic Plan for the Agency

THEC has responsibility to develop and direct the Tennessee Higher Education Master Plan. The master plan, as defined in Tennessee Code, directs the commission to develop a statewide master plan to increase the educational attainment levels of Tennesseans through strategic future development of public universities, community colleges, and colleges of applied technology. In the development of this master plan, the commission shall actively engage with state institutions of higher education and their respective governing boards, as well as key stakeholders, and the appropriate state agencies. Furthermore, the commission is to engage regional and statewide constituencies for input and information to ensure the master plan supports the development of higher education opportunities for Tennesseans. Explicitly, the master plan is to facilitate regional cooperation and alignment among postsecondary institutions, secondary educational institutions, business, and industry, as well as civic and community leaders.

The last master plan update was in 2020 with a reach to 2025. However, much has changed in the postsecondary landscape since 2020 and the next director will be responsible for leading the development of a new master plan.

In support of the higher education master plan, the agency has immediate needs for an operational strategic plan that guides the performance of the various units. Such a plan should be consistent with the guidance of the state’s Strategic Financial Plan. The focus of this more granular plan is focus on state appropriations, student tuition and other charges, financial aid, and capital and infrastructure issues, as well as other factors. The plan shall also address higher education efficiency, affordability, performance, return on investment, and other relevant factors. The most recent Strategic Financial Plan update was also in 2020.

Strengthen THEC as the Respected Voice for Postsecondary Education

A critical requirement for the executive director is building strong relationships with stakeholders across the state. THEC sits at the intersection of postsecondary institutions, government, and the public and is expected to be the chief communicator among all these arenas.

It is imperative that THEC be recognized as the leader and respected voice of higher education across the state, and establishing relationships with all stakeholders and state partners is the key to success. The new executive director will be expected to focus on reinforcing relationships through interpersonal dialogue with stakeholders, as well as being a strong voice to the public as THEC continues to advance higher eduaction across Tennessee.

The executive director will immediately be given a seat on a host of boards and commissions. Additionally, recent state interest in building a knowledge-based workforce has given THEC an important role in Tennessee’s economic development. THEC is the primary voice for postsecondary education among all these boards, commissions, and working groups.

Guide the Postsecondary Community to be More Responsive to Tennessee’s Opportunity to be a Knowledge-Based Workforce

Tennessee has historically had a diverse and growing economy. It is known for its strong presence in industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, tourism, and music. Cities like Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville play significant roles in shaping the state’s economic landscape.

Nashville has been fueled by its status as a hub for the music industry and a growing technology sector. The city’s healthcare giants such as HCA Healthcare and Community Health Systems, have contributed to its economic strength. Memphis is a major transportation and logistics hub due to its location along the Mississippi River and its connection to major highways and railroads. The city is home to FedEx’s global headquarters and plays a vital role in the movement of goods. Tourism has been another important economic driver, with attractions like the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the vibrant music scene in Nashville attracting visitors from around the world.

In recent years, the manufacturing sector in Tennessee has been particularly robust, with industries ranging from automotive production to aerospace and chemicals. The state hosts major manufacturing plants for companies like Nissan, General Motors, and Volkswagen and a new $560M “factory of the future” from Ford.

All of this points to Tennessee being a knowledge-based economy where postsecondary credentials are critical to continued growth. THEC plays the central role in delivering the workforce needs of such an economy built on postsecondary credentials. The challenge of unifying all sectors of higher education to this vision can be daunting but will be an essential expectation for the new executive director. Such common issues in higher education such as willingness to develop new educational pathways including stackable credentials, development of certified workforce credentials, ease of transfer among sectors, assessment of prior learning, and advancement of innovative research to support the aspirations of employers who depend on reinventing and disrupting their sectors.

Advocate for Prudential Management of Lottery Revenues and Programs

Over the past 20 years, consistent increases in lottery revenues have generally exceeded the costs of lottery-funded programs, creating an annual surplus of revenue. The potential use of surplus lottery revenues has been a target of constant discussion among various higher education stakeholders in recent years. Specifically, two growing interests include: 1) The desire to increase scholarship award amounts, and 2) The desire to divert some of the lottery revenues to other educational programs. THEC/TSAC have been the primary voice for a thoughtful approach to the use of surplus funding, and the Executive Director must be able to articulate the impact that these interests can have on the future of Tennessee’s financial aid programs.

Public Chapter 1116 of 2022, provided for significant increased award amounts for the HOPE scholarship and Dual Enrollment grant as well as program expansions for the Dual Enrollment and Tennessee Reconnect programs. These modifications resulted in a 23 percent increase in expenditures in 2022-23 over the prior academic year. Given these historic changes, any future Administration or General Assembly recommendations for new programs or increases to current award amounts should be carefully analyzed in light of anticipated expenditure growth in existing programs and the impact a decrease in surplus revenues will have on the strength of the Tennessee Promise Scholarship endowment.

PROCEDURE FOR CANDIDACY

The Commission and Search Committee will identify a candidate who embraces the power of continuity with change and fosters a culture of community. All applications, nominations and inquiries are invited.

For fullest consideration, nominations and applications should be received by October 6, 2023. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission anticipates welcoming the new Executive Director by or before January 2024.

The application must include a letter of interest addressing the themes addressed in this profile, not to exceed three pages; a current résumé (or curriculum vitae); and the names of five professional references with each person’s position, office or home address, e-mail address, and telephone numbers. References will not be contacted without prior authorization.

Nominations and applications should be sent electronically (MS Word or PDF format) to THECexecutivedirector@agbsearch.com.

The search is being assisted by James McCormick and Janice Fitzgerald, Senior Executive Search Consultants for AGB Search.

James McCormick: jim.mccormick@agbsearch.com, 651-238-5188, Janice Fitzgerald: janice.fitzgerald@agbsearch.com, 717-580-0663.

Additional information may be found at tn.gov/thec and Active Searches | AGB Search

Tennessee Higher Education Commission 2022-23 Commission Members

Ms. Tara Scarlett, Chair, Nashville (Middle Tennessee)

Mr. Vernon Stafford, Jr., Vice Chair West, Collierville (West Tennessee)

Ms. Dakasha Winton, Vice Chair East, Chattanooga (East Tennessee)

Mayor A C Wharton, Jr., Secretary, Memphis (West Tennessee)

Ms. Whitney Allmon, Dyersburg (West Tennessee)

Mr. Evan Cope, Murfreesboro (Middle Tennessee)

Ms. Pam Koban, Nashville (Middle Tennessee)

Mr. Jimmy Matlock, Lenoir City (East Tennessee)

Mr. Jay Moser, Jefferson City (East Tennessee)

Mr. Tre Hargett, Secretary of State

Mr. David H. Lillard, Jr., State Treasurer

Mr. Jason E. Mumpower, State Comptroller

Dr. Sara Morrison, Executive Director, State Board of Education, Non-Voting Ex-Officio

Mr. Andrew Kingsolver, Roane State Community College, Voting Student Member