Nashville GRAD, Flex provide a pathway to success for community college students | Opinion

Julie Williams, Carolyn J. Heinrich, Stephanie Coleman, Cecily Freeman and Bob Obrohta
·3 min read

Nashville State Community College is seeing tremendous success with two programs that provide academic and financial supports to college students.

The programs, Nashville GRAD and Nashville Flex, are garnering attention on the national stage for contributing to remarkable rates of student persistence in college. Providing resources to expand them would be a wise community investment for our city and state’s residents and workforce.

Both programs provide wrap-around services that remove financial barriers and provide academic, social and emotional support to students residing in Davidson County as they persist and graduate from college. There is only one small difference: GRAD supports full-time students while Flex supports part-time students.

Students are assigned an adviser that they meet with at least twice monthly to help navigate the higher education world and keep them on track. To assist with non-tuition related expenses of going to college, students are provided with a stipend to assist with textbooks, and $100 per month in gift cards to help with expenses like gas or groceries.

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What is Nashville GRAD?

GRAD serves more than 300 students and was founded in 2018 under Mayor David Briley’s administration. It was the first program in Tennessee to support community college students beyond tuition and is funded by the city and businesses (Amazon, AllianceBernstein, Piedmont Natural Gas, HCA Healthcare, the Tennessee Titans and others).

Noah Hunt, a senior at Maplewood High School, works with a simulated patient in the patient care simulation lab at Nashville State Community College in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, April 22, 2021. Nashville State Community College, HCA Healthcare Foundation/TriStar Health, and Metro Nashville Public Schools have announced an accelerated career pipeline to the high-demand healthcare industry.

GRAD students’ two-year graduation rate is nearly double that of other Nashville State students, and research conducted by Vanderbilt’s Peabody College shows that GRAD students persist (84.5%) and are retained (57%) at substantially higher rates than other students using Tennessee Promise, which covers tuition and fees only, without these extra supports.

GRAD is slated to be funded by Mayor John Cooper and Metro Council in the FY24 budget. They deserve credit for continuing the program as part of an education and workforce strategy.

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What is Nashville Flex?

Flex currently serves 60 part-time students and is funded by the Tennessee College Access and Success Network through a Kresge Foundation CoPro2 grant. Early results demonstrate program success, with 92% of students who began in fall 2022 returning for their second semester in January, compared with 51% nationally.

Metro Nashville Public Schools interim director Adrienne Battle and President of Nashville State Community College Dr. Shanna Jackson speak before joining the “Better Together” partnership at Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn.
Metro Nashville Public Schools interim director Adrienne Battle and President of Nashville State Community College Dr. Shanna Jackson speak before joining the “Better Together” partnership at Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High School Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn.

In addition to increasing persistence, the Flex program had an unanticipated impact on another dimension of student success. As confidence in their abilities grew, a number of students chose to take a heavier course load their second semester, and a few even transitioned from part-time to full-time. This increased confidence in their academic abilities shortens time to graduation and accelerates career growth for an often underserved population of students.

Lindsay Hager, manager of peer mentoring and Flex student success advisor, commented: “My students are so resilient. They are dealing with so much, and yet they still prioritize their education. They prioritize it because they know it will better their future, no matter how hard it is right now.”

Shane, a Flex student, shared how Flex supports have allowed her to focus on her classes rather than work. “I can work 8 hours less this week and still be able to get groceries. It really, really does give you this sense of comfort and this level of ‘things are going to be okay.’”

Dr. Julie Williams is associate vice president of students affairs at Nashville State Community College.

Carolyn J. Heinrich is the University Distinguished Professor and Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Public Policy, Education and Economics at Vanderbilt University.

Stephanie Coleman is chief talent development officer at the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Cecily Freeman is executive director of the Nashville State Community College Foundation.

Bob Obrohta is executive director of TN College Access and Success Network.

To find out more about GRAD and Flex, click on the links, or call (615) 353-3655.

Nashville Flex partners: Nashville State Community College, Nashville State Foundation, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Vanderbilt University – Peabody College, TCASN.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville GRAD and Flex prepare community college students for success