TCASN partners with local communities, districts, and organizations to provide technical expertise and capacity building to increase college access and success.

Counting the Cost

In Counting the Cost, funded by JP Morgan Chase’s New Skills Ready Nashville, TCASN examines the financial barriers - both tuition and nontuition barriers - Nashville State Community College students face during their journey to degree attainment.

The report provides an in-depth review of how set total cost of attendance and financial aid packages do not always provide enough funding to cover student basic needs. Despite aid, many students still struggle to pay for housing, food, transportation, healthcare and other basic needs.

Point of Departure

Funded by JP Morgan Chase, New Skills Ready Nashville and TCASN explore college accessibility as it relates to Nashville’s public transportation system in Point of Departure.

The majority of Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) graduates attending college are commuters. This is true for community college students as well as students pursuing a bachelor’s degree at one of the local universities – where most Nashville students attend. These commuters rely on one of three primary modes of transportation: a personal vehicle, a shared family car driven by themselves or a family member, or public transit.

Bridge to Completion

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TCASN partners with the Nashville Public Education Foundation to conduct an in-depth, multi-level analysis of what college access and success looks like for Nashville's public school graduates. Bridge to Completion synthesizes diverse data sets, stakeholder perspectives, and national best practices to identify opportunities for Nashville to move forward and ensure more youth earn a college degree or certification. This research underpins NPEF's community-wide campaign for college success.

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Funded by The Kresge Foundation for Education, TCASN partnered with Seeding Success to conduct an in-depth analysis of college-going, persistence, and college completion rates of Shelby County Schools graduates. Building Pathways provides a comprehensive look at multiple data points and highlights key insights from community stakeholders.

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What's Next

TCASN worked collaboratively with the staff of Opportunity NOW, Nashville's summer youth employment initiative, to design an intervention to reduce summer melt for program participants. What's Next combines student resources with materials for employment coaches, check-ins via text message, and support from peers to help college-bound students successfully enroll in college following the end of high school.

Learn more about What's Next.

White Papers

TCASN builds capacity by conducting original research and/or compiling and synthesizing existing academic research to better equip practitioners and policy makers. The results of this work are white papers we use to drive our advocacy work and partnerships. Read some selected white papers below.

Bold Thinking Collaborative Action Collective Success: A Shared Framework for College Access and Success Data in Tennessee

Realizing Potential: A White Paper on College Student Undermatching

College-Going and College Choice: An Occasional Paper on Student Decision-Making