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College System of Tennessee supports Tennessee Pledge for Higher Education for health and safety of students, faculty, staff and public on campus

Tennessee Board of Regents - TBRNashville, TN – The College System of Tennessee fully supports the Tennessee Pledge for Higher Education, an array of guidelines and best practices for the health and safety of campus communities while continuing high-quality instruction during the COVID-19 Coronavirus era, Chancellor Flora W. Tydings said.

The Tennessee Pledge for Higher Education was released by Governor Bill Lee’s Economic Recovery Group.

Tennessee Pledge

It was drafted in conjunction with the chief executive officers of the state’s public and private colleges, universities and higher education systems, including Dr. Tydings, chancellor of the College System of Tennessee – the state’s 13 community colleges and 27 colleges of applied technology.

“Our community and technical colleges fully support the recommendations in the Tennessee Pledge for Higher Education institutions because the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and the public visiting our campuses is our top priority as we shift back to on campus instruction this summer and fall,” Tydings said. “Our 40 colleges already have been following these guidelines and best practices and will continue to do so as our campuses continue to re-open.

“I applaud Governor Lee, the Economic Recovery Group and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for taking the lead on this effort, which consolidates into one document the current recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the American College Health Association. It will help students and all of our campus communities know and understand the important measures being taken to help keep them safe during the pandemic,” Tydings said.

The chancellor earlier established three separate task forces composed of system office staff and campus representatives to help plan and guide various aspects of reopening our colleges to on-campus instruction while continuing online and hybrid teaching where warranted. The task forces are also reviewing options that would enable our colleges to finish their on-campus instruction by Thanksgiving, completing the semester and final exams online after the holiday, to reduce the impacts of a possible resurgence of COVID-19 Coronavirus in late fall and winter.

The College System was able to quickly shift to an online environment in March when the pandemic reached the state because it has nearly 20 years of online instructional experience gained through the TN eCampus partnership launched in 2001.

The Tennessee Pledge for Higher Education is available here.

Governor Lee’s media release announcing the Pledge is here.

 

About the College System of Tennessee 

The College System of Tennessee, governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents, is the state’s largest public higher education system, with 13 community colleges, 27 colleges of applied technology and the online TN eCampus serving approximately 140,000 students annually.

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