Reporting to the Director of College Access Alignment, this position will be responsible for sharing and helping to implement college access initiatives, strategies, best practices, and resources to schools within their region .

The mission of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission is to build a strong higher education landscape that provides opportunities for all individuals to pursue high-quality education and high-value credentials. In pursuit of this mission, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission is committed to expanding educational access and success for all students by cultivating seamless alignment between all Tennessee institutions, honoring state and student investments in education, and driving Tennessee students, institutions, and communities toward a thriving future.

We pursue this goal by innovating for student access and success, creating a policy environment conducive to increased degree attainment, and protecting students and consumers. Additional information about THEC/TSAC may be found at tn.gov/thec.

The Access and Outreach Bureau at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) focuses on fulfilling THEC’s mission of increasing the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential. The Bureau pursues this goal by extending broad statewide outreach and services available to all students across Tennessee, providing targeted support and implementation of key programs, building strategic partnerships and innovative initiatives to support students, and monitoring progress to measure and improve student success outcomes. The work of the Bureau is divided into three divisions: adult learner initiatives, college access and success, and outreach.

This position is offered and sustained pending the availability of funding.
The selected candidate must reside in either West, Middle,, or East Tennessee.

· Identify a point of contact at each target school and establish a regular meeting schedule and annual implementation plan.

· Meet with target schools on a regular basis to share college access resources, data, strategies, and best practices.

· Deliver agency and bureau publications to all target schools within region.
· Schedule and conduct presentations and workshops with the school staff, parents, and students as needed.

· In collaboration with the schools’ principals and primary point of contact for college access, form and help lead college access steering committee meetings to be held at least twice per year.

· Ensure that every target school registers for Path to College mailings and newsletters.

· Schedule and conduct presentations and administer workshops and one-on-one meetings with students and families to support the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and TN Promise application.

· Maintain a communication database, mailing list, and activity report within the region.

· Train school counselors, college access professionals, and others in the region to use CollegeforTN.org.

· Assist target schools with the implementation of college access resources.

· Help target schools conduct an assessment of their college-going culture and analyze the assessment.

· Help target schools expand their current college-going culture.

· Promote dual enrollment opportunities and dual enrollment funding to each target school.

· Serve as a member of the College Access and Outreach Bureau’s College Access Outreach Team, which is focused on expanding a statewide culture of college-going within Tennessee high schools by providing services and resources to target schools in Tennessee.

· Regularly partner with other members of the Access and Outreach Bureau and the College Access and Success Team to support agency, bureau, and division projects and initiatives.

· Assist with the implementation of TN Path to College Events at each target school, which include TN College Application & Exploration Month, TN FAFSA Frenzy, TN College Signing Day, and TN College Planning Night.

· Participate in the College Access Professional (CAP) trainings in your region.

· Develop, lead, and promote training opportunities in college access across your region through multiple methods, resources, and programs.

· Regularly meet with the other team members from the Access and Outreach Bureau that work in the same region.

· Collaborate with the Coordinator of College Access Communications to produce and distribute a monthly newsletter that highlights K-12-facing THEC/TSAC initiatives and priorities.

· Provide program implementation assistance to the Bureau’s direct-service programs, Advise TN and GEAR UP TN, as needed.

· Represent THEC and the Access and Outreach Bureau when engaging external parties as appropriate.

· Participate in national and statewide organizations and convenings as appropriate.

· Identify the gaps in college access resources and services across Tennessee and work with other team members in the Access and Outreach Bureau to fill those needs.

· Support THEC initiatives such as Direct Admissions as needed.

· Other duties as assigned.