Tennessee Higher Education Commission 2025-26 Commission Members - College-Going Rate Report for the Class of 2024

Oct 15, 2026

College-going rate measures the share of public high school graduates who enroll seamlessly in postsecondary education immediately after graduation. This report focuses on the class of 2024 and summarizes statewide outcomes, highlighting a slight 0.7 percentage point decline from the class of 2023 to a 56.0% statewide college-going rate. The decrease is attributed to challenges tied to the 2023–2024 FAFSA rollout, while higher graduation rates and cohort growth supported increased enrollments. The report also examines enrollment patterns by race/ethnicity, gender, county, and postsecondary awards, supported by figures and tables and includes county and post-2020 appendices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages38

Reading Time1 h 36 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Tennessee and the Enrollment Cliff

College-Going Data and Methods

College Going in Tennessee

Conclusion

Appendix A: College-Going Rate by County, 2020 to 2024

Appendix B: A New Normal? College Enrollment After 2020

Tennessee Higher Education Commission 2025-26 Commission Members Ms. Tara Scarlett | Chair | Nashville | Middle Tennessee Mr. Tre Hargett | Vice Chair | Secretary of State Dr. Mike Ragsdale | Vice Chair | Dandridge | East Tennessee Ms. Whitney Allmon | Secretary | Dyersburg | West Tennessee Mr. Jimmy Matlock | Lenoir City | East Tennessee Mr. Gadson W. Perry | Memphis | West Tennessee Mr. John Rader | Nashville | Middle Tennessee Dr. Robert Smith | Franklin | Middle Tennessee Mr. Vernon Stafford, Jr. | Collierville | West Tennessee Mr. Charles Wood | Chattanooga | East Tennessee Mr. David H. Lillard, Jr. | State Treasurer Mr. Jason E. Mumpower | State Comptroller Dr. Sara Heyburn Morrison | Executive Director, State Board of Education Ms. Julia Dieter | University of Tennessee, Knoxville | Student Member CONTENTS Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Tennessee and the Enrollment Cliff ....................................................................................................................... 7 College-Going Data and Methods ......................................................................................................................... 10 College Going in Tennessee .................................................................................................................................. 12 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................... 29 Appendix A: College-Going Rate by County, 2020 to 2024 ................................................................................ 31 Appendix B: A New Normal? College Enrollment After 2020 ............................................................................ 34 Table 1: Public High School Graduates and Postsecondary Enrollees ............................................................. 13 Table 2: College-Going Rates of Class of 2024 by Race/Ethnicity, Gender, & Race/Ethnicity-Gender Pairs . 18 Table 3: High School Students with Postsecondary Awards.............................................................................. 24 Table 4: College-Going Rate for Dual Enrollment Grantees .............................................................................. 25 Table 5: Top Ten States Receiving Tennessee Public High School Graduates, Class of 2024 ........................ 28 Figure 1: Percent Change in High School Graduates 2023-2041......................................................................... 7 Figure 2: Number of Additional High School Graduates Compared to 2022-23 in Tennessee ....................... 8 Figure 3: Tennessee Public High School Graduates by Race/Ethnicity ............................................................... 9 Figure 4: High School Graduation Cohorts, Graduates, and Graduation Rates .............................................. 10 Figure 5: Statewide College-Going Rate ............................................................................................................... 13 Figure 6: FAFSA Filing Among TN Promise Applicants ........................................................................................ 15 Figure 7: Class of 2024 College-Going Rate by County ....................................................................................... 16 Figure 8: College-Going Rate Change by County, 2023-2024 ............................................................................ 16 Figure 9: College-Going Rate Change by County, 2020-2024 ............................................................................ 17 Figure 10: College-Going Rate Changes, 2023 to 2024, by Race/Ethnicity-Gender Pairs ............................... 19 Figure 11: College-Going Rates by Gender .........................

FAQs

What does the college-going rate measure in this report?

It indicates the portion of public high school graduates who seamlessly enroll in postsecondary education immediately after high school.

How did the statewide college-going rate change for the class of 2024?

It decreased by 0.7 percentage points compared with the class of 2023, reaching a statewide college-going rate of 56.0%.

What factor does the report cite as likely contributing to the decline for the class of 2024?

Significant challenges associated with the 2023–2024 FAFSA rollout are cited as a likely cause.

Oct 15, 2026

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