Northeast State, TCAT Elizabethton officials address Kingsport BMA

KINGSPORT — The Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman heard updates related to workforce development and higher education at Monday evening's work session. Northeast State Community College President Jeff McCord was the first of several individuals to present at the work session. He spoke about the college's enrollment growth and how the city can support the future of the institution. The community college has grown its enrollment 20% over the last three years, McCord said. He said that 60% of enrolled NESCC qualify for the Pell Grant and 60% are first generation college students, respectively. "We are unique in the state in that we have a large technical capacity," he said. "That's our heritage, as well as the transfer pathway. Of our 6,300 students, about half are on the technical side or the trade side, half are on the transfer side." McCord said Northeast State is responsible for and runs the adult education program for eight counties in Northeast Tennessee, with around 1,000 people enrolled this past fall. He said students participate in workforce programs as they move through, setting them up to enter the workforce upon completion of the high school equivalency program. He explained that Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport will have its first graduates of Middle College this spring to tackle low college-going rates in the region. Graduates of the Middle College program are able to leave high school with an associate's degree along with their diploma. McCord said partnerships with the city, Tennessee College of Applied Technology Elizabethton and East Tennessee State University allows students to continue their education journey when life and ambition allow. About 3,000 people get their education or workforce development from Northeast State in downtown Kingsport, he mentioned. "We've just started a radiologic program, which will graduate and have a pinning ceremony in the [Kingsport Higher Education Center] coming up. It'll be our first graduation. If you want to go to a two-year radiologic program, the closest place besides us is Chattanooga." McCord said the community college is looking to add more space within Kingsport for those kinds of medical imaging programs as the need continues to rise. "We're excited we get to walk alongside people who are trying to do better and help them get there," he said. "It's a really high purpose fun thing to do, and we're really enjoying it, and we really do appreciate the long term partnership with Kingsport." Kingsport Mayor Paul Montgomery asked McCord about the future of bringing athletics to Northeast State, to which McCord replied it has gone from "potential to likely." TCAT TCAT Elizabethton Vice President of Instruction, Dual Enrollment and Accreditation Richard Church shared similar information about their school. "When I travel across the country talking about workforce development, Tennessee is unique in that we have a separate community college and technical college system to operate under the same umbrella as the Tennessee Board of Regents," Church said. "That's also unique, because students can choose their return on investment. That's a big deal, as you're making your decisions in high school or upskilling if you're already in the workforce." He said TCAT's Kingsport campus offers the following programs: Automotive technology Building construction technology Collision repair technology Pipefitting and plumbing technology Practical nursing TCAT is also looking at adding an industrial maintenance/mechatronics program at the Boones Creek campus starting in May 2026 and a barbering program, if approved, by fall 2026. The college plans to add a full-time dual enrollment instructor for automotive and off-road diesel technology, a dual enrollment Licensed Practical Nurse instructor and dual enrollment advisor at D-B. Church said the dual enrollment advisor will be shared between West Ridge, Sullivan East and Tennessee High Schools. According to Church, TCAT Elizabethton now offers six campuses and works with 17 area high schools — with about 2,567 students total. Church said he has seen a mindset shift in students and parents alike that higher education does not have to look like a four-year bachelor's degree program. "We know what [students] want in terms of what they want to do and what they want to invest in the time and then how immediately they may want to go into the workforce with a certain convention," Church said. "We know that, they say that to us. That's why we're going to invest in an advisor to be with them very regularly, to help them make those decisions and help bring parents along and educate parents." Similar to Northeast State, Church said TCAT is running out of space for its filled out programs. The Kingsport TCAT campus hosts a nursing cohort of 85 students, he explained. "We're locked right now, and we're full. That space at Kingsport can comfortably hold about 130 students, and we usually surpass that every term before any attrition," Church said. Alderman James Phillips commented it was important for the BMA to know how to help the city's education partners continue to expand and flourish. Other speakers at Monday's work session included Frank Lett, Vanessa Bennett, Nicole Austin and Aundrea Salyer to discuss updates on Kingsport Chamber programs — as well as Ryan McReynolds who talked about future plans for a new public works/sanitation facility.