Tennessee public colleges see rise in enrollment, retention

Public colleges and universities in Tennessee are seeing an increase in enrollment and retention rates. Courtesy of NSCC

In fall 2024, enrollment for credit-earning courses at the state’s public colleges and universities increased by 2.3 percent compared to fall 2023 numbers, according to the Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book released on June 5. That number represents an addition of nearly 5,000 students.

The report also noted that 72 percent of first-time, full-time freshmen who enrolled in fall 2023 continued to be enrolled at a Tennessee public college in fall 2024.

Nashville State Community College enrolled 7,559 students last fall, about 600 more than the previous year's figure and representing a 6.4 percent increase from the 2020 mark. Between fall 2023 and fall 2024