Photos by A.J. Kaufman
By A.J. Kaufman, Managing Editor
Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) have seen strong enrollment increases in the past several academic years, driven mainly by career and technical education demand. TCATs recently reported over 51,000 total students, with TCAT-Elizabethton (TCAT-E) counting roughly 2,700 of those students.
In the last five years, year-over-year growth ranges from 22 to 25%, per Richard Church, Executive Vice President of Instruction, Dual Enrollment and Accreditation at TCAT-E.
Heath McMillian was appointed as President of TCAT-E in 2024. At a time when many four-year liberal arts colleges are seeing enrollment decreases, he’s proud of the ongoing success at TCAT.
“The team here works tirelessly every day to ensure student success. It’s kind of a cohort model,” he said. “Typically, what happens there is, once a student comes in, they build a relationship with people. And once you build that relationship, accountability can come. You’ve got someone there holding you accountable that’s kind of in the same spot you are. And then with accountability comes retention. And then retention comes completion. So that cohort model has been crucial for what we do to help these students find their place.”
TCATs offer more than two-dozen programs with five campuses across the Tri-Cities region. They benefit from dual enrollment relationships with all school districts in Northeast Tennessee, the largest being Kingsport City Schools. There were 156 dual enrollment students who were awarded certificates or diplomas in the 2024-25 academic year.
Recently, they added the following programs to their inventory:
- Computer information systems
- Truck driving
- Industrial maintenance-integrated automation
- Industrial maintenance-mechatronics
- Retail hospitality and tourism
- Meat processing technology
McMillian noted cooperation from Baker’s Construction Services and Summers-Taylor with their heavy equipment operator cohorts. TCAT-E also graduated their first CDL class in April and soon will begin nighttime barbering. Additionally, he commended the school’s “great relationship” with Northeast State Community College and ETSU on articulation agreements.
McMillian lauded Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee for the governor’s ongoing assistance in prioritizing career and technical education statewide. As part of Lee’s initiative to strengthen Tennessee’s workforce, he allocated millions in funding to foster regional partnerships between TCATs, community colleges and local industries.
Specifically, his $1 billion investment in the statewide TCAT Master Plan — approved by the Tennessee General Assembly — is for 29 major projects that include new TCAT extension campuses, new buildings on existing campuses, and other expansions and upgrades.
Closer to home, the Carter County Higher Education Center, a $40-million collaborative facility shared by TCAT-E with Northeast State Community College, is expected within the year.
“Workforce development at its core doesn’t start with us teaching a student how to wire a circuit or how to weld,” McMillian told the Business Journal. “It starts with us helping the student understand purpose and then giving them the confidence to pursue that purpose.”
He added that he’s focused on helping regional industries understand the importance of TCAT graduating competent and confident workers.
“We talk a lot about micro credentials, stackable credentials in the industry, or industry-recognized credentials. Sometimes one of the worst things about industry-recognized credentials is this industry doesn’t always recognize them. But does that mean they’re not important? No,” McMillian explained. “We graduate a lot of competent kids, but sometimes they don’t have a lot of confidence that they can do anything meaningful with what they’ve learned. And that’s exactly what these micro credentials and stackable credentials do; it’s helping a student understand that they can do this, in small chunks, and it stacks and builds. I think that’s important to grow that.”
TCAT-E is one of 27 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology and governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents and accredited by the Commission of the Council on Occupational Education. Currently, the school is the largest post-secondary partner with the Tennessee Department of Corrections. TCAT-E has the second highest pass rate among all TCATs on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for nurses.
