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Message from President Tracy D. Hall

Moving the needle

Our work is paying off… literally.  Thanks to improvements in our outcomes metrics and quality assurance funding, Southwest will receive a $1.6 million increase in our FY 2019-2020 state appropriations… the largest in 7 years.

Dr. Tracy D. Hall

This is big.

When we set out to achieve the Big Audacious Goal to Redesign, Reinvent, Reset Southwest in the Fall of 2016 with the Achieving the Dream (ATD) initiative, our chief objective was to foster student success through excellence in our operations. We went to work to move the needle on multiple fronts—from enrollment to commencement and the many touch points in between.  It’s working. For example, in 2017 – 2018, we awarded 13 percent more associates degrees and increased dual enrollment by four percent and awards per FTE by 16 percent.

Our recent Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) performance funding scorecard indicates we are making gains in quality assurance, too. In fact, we earned 90 of 100 points on the Student Learning & Engagement and Student Access & Success scales, also known as the Quality Assurance Funding Score.  This represents a 22 percent increase over last year.  These gains have moved us up 8 spots in the rankings among public colleges and universities in Tennessee. We are now number 11 out of 22. We were 19 a year ago.

These student outcomes are not happenstance. They are a result of hard work that has yielded immense financial gains.  Our students are reaching their goals as never before and now Southwest employees will benefit.  The College will invest these financial gains in compensation, professional development, new equipment, physical plant improvements and more.

In the meantime, let’s bask in the glow of success. We are moving full steam ahead in the right direction in our Big Audacious Goal to Redesign, Reinvent, Reset Southwest. Keep up the magnificent work and, as always, thank you for all that you do!