113th General Assembly
Policy Update

February 24, 2023

TICUA Annual Meeting a Success!

This week TICUA hosted the 67th TICUA Annual Meeting of the Presidents. The meeting was attended by TICUA member presidents, institutional board members, the TICUA Board of Directors, the TICUA Government Affairs Committee, the TICUA Executive Leadership Institute Fellows, and others.

During the event, attendees were provided with a briefing on legal issues impacting private higher education and an update on federal and state policy proposals. Following the briefings, the Education Chairs, Rep. Mark White and Sen. Jon Lundberg, discussed key education issues before the Tennessee General Assembly. That discussion was followed by a statewide public higher education update by Dr. Bob Smith, Interim Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The program was anchored by a discussion of legislative issues ranging from transportation to firearms with House Speaker Cameron Sexton and Lt. Governor Randy McNally.

During the membership business meeting, member presidents voted to ratify the proposed slate for the TICUA Board of Directors. This confirmed the service of Eric Deaton, COO of Ballad Health, as the Board’s Vice Chair and the installation of the following new members: Lewis Reich, Southern College of Optometry; Nathan Green, Vice Chancellor for Government and Community Relations at Vanderbilt University; Alfred Degrafinreid II, CEO of Leadership Tennessee; David Purkey, former commissioner of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security under the Haslam administration; and Bradley Jackson, CEO of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce. The presidents honored board members whose terms had expired, which included Dub Oliver, Union University; Paul Stumb, Cumberland University; Beth Harwell, former Tennessee Speaker of the House; and Eric Robertson, CEO of Formanek Foundation.

Dual Enrollment Bill Unanimously Passes Senate Education Committee

TICUA’s proposed dual enrollment bill unanimously passed the Senate Education Committee this week. Sen. Ed Jackson, the bill's sponsor, presented the measure.SB1408/HB0957 seeks to address recent changes to the Dual Enrollment Grant. In the previous session, the General Assembly increased the amount of the grant to match the tuition charges of public community colleges but also set the increased grant amount as a cap on the amount that can be charged for the courses. Without state subsidies, it is difficult for some TICUA members to recoup the necessary funds to pay for certain courses. Consequently, TICUA is requesting the cap be removed from private colleges and universities. The bill will now go to the senate chamber for full consideration. The house companion bill will be placed on notice in the House Higher Education Subcommittee within the next two weeks.

Senate Education Committee Approves HOPE Scholarships for Graduate Students 

Sen. Bo Watson presented SB74/HB27 before the Senate Education Committee this week. The legislation revives an effort from the previous session which will allow HOPE scholarship recipients who earn the student's first baccalaureate degree in less than the projected completion time to continue to receive the Tennessee HOPE scholarship in pursuit of an advanced degree. The bill has been successfully amended to make TICUA students and graduate programs eligible for the additional aid.

The bill passed the committee with seven affirmative votes and one pass. The bill will now be referred to the Senate Finance Committee. The house companion bill has been placed on the House Higher Education Subcommittee’s lottery calendar. Those bills are typically considered on the final day of work for the subcommittee.