Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology

The Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology have received international recognition for their high job placement rates and close connections with local industry and statewide economic development goals. To help guide the future development of these institutions, TSW completed the first Statewide Master Plan for all 27 colleges in the system. The plan includes several key components to ensure that it is comprehensive and tailored to the specific needs of each college.

The first component of the plan is a regional labor market and demographic analysis for each campus. This analysis aims to understand potential facilities expansions in the context of growing job sectors and industry needs, ensuring that the colleges are able to meet the changing needs of the local job market.

The second component is a comprehensive facilities and architectural analysis for all building systems, covering more than 1,750,000 square feet of space. This analysis helped to identify any potential issues or inefficiencies with the existing buildings, and identify opportunities for improvement.

The third component is the development of a new space model to determine lab, classroom, office, and other space needs for each campus and academic program. This helped to ensure that the colleges have adequate space to meet the needs of students and faculty.

The fourth component was individual interviews, focus groups, and online surveys with hundreds of instructors, campus directors, local leaders, and major employers. This helped to ensure that the plans were aligned with the needs and priorities of the college community and local industry.

The fifth component is detailed expansion and migration plans for each campus, including space for proposed programs, recommended site improvements, and land acquisition plans. This helped to ensure that the colleges have adequate space to meet the needs of students and faculty, and that the college campuses were well-maintained and attractive to prospective students.

The final component is an implementation plan and discussions with Board of Regents on statewide priorities, which helped to ensure that the plans are implemented in an effective and efficient manner.

Overall, this Statewide Master Plan for the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology is a comprehensive and tailored approach to the development of these institutions. It takes into account the needs of the college community, the local job market, and the regional context, and it is expected that the implementation of this plan will have a positive impact on the colleges and the communities they serve for years to come.