Two Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) – Crossville and McMinnville – have earned VETS Campus certification, signaling commitment to efforts to help veterans succeed academically.
The 2014 Tennessee Veterans Education Transition Support (VETS) Act – which established the VETS Campus program – requires schools to meet a set of seven programs, requirements, and qualifications to be certified by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
Such requirements include efforts such as mentoring and support programs; assessments of prior learning that gives academic credit to veterans for training and experience from military service; annual surveys of student veterans’ perspectives and needs; and special orientation programs.
“We’re delighted that TCAT Crossville and TCAT McMinnville have achieved this important milestone and made their campuses even more welcoming to our veterans than ever,” said Regina Watkins, director of veteran enrollment and benefits in the College System of Tennessee’s Office of Student Success. “It is an honor to have veterans at our institutions. We have a duty to serve them as they served us.”
These two recent certifications mean that 17 colleges in the College System of Tennessee are VETS campuses. The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) and the Office of Student Success aim to get all TBR colleges certified by the end of 2023.