Higher Education Commission

Public higher education in Tennessee consists of six locally governed universities, the University of Tennessee with campuses in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Martin, Memphis, and Pulaski, and the Tennessee Board of Regents charged with governance over the state’s 13 community colleges and 24 colleges of applied technology. Each of the eight governing boards was legislatively established with defined roles and responsibilities for ensuring the public direction and policy guidance for their respective institutions. The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) serves as the coordinating authority for implementing Tennessee’s statewide higher education public and fiscal policy, as well as the programmatic elements of the state’s strategic master plan for postsecondary education.