By: Isabelle Puente
Tennessee College of Applied Technology or better known as TCAT, continues to see a rise in admissions. During the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, technical colleges saw a 4.9% increase in enrollment rates while universities saw a 0.6% decline.
Located at 2468 Technology Center Drive near the Jackson Regional Airport, TCAT offers a wide variety of programs for students to choose from including technical training, allied health programs, industrial programs and service industry with many different concentrations in each. Many of these programs only take one year to complete with the longest being one-and-a-half years.
Karen Larsen, TCAT vice president for instruction and institutional effectiveness, gave Golden Media Group insight on TCAT Jackson admission rates post Covid-19.
“Across the post-secondary spectrum you saw an enrollment decrease through post-covid, TCATs statewide did not experience that enrollment decrease,” Larsen said. “In fact I think we saw more of an enrollment increase, from fall of 2024 to fall of 2025 our enrollment increased by about 11% almost 12.”
If you’re a recent university graduate or know someone that’s a recent grad, you might’ve heard at some point about struggling to find a job in the current market. However, 86% of students that graduate from a technical college are easily able to find jobs in their field due to the high demand of those degrees. At TCAT, their benchmark for employment after graduation is 70% of students, a benchmark that they have continued to surpass.
Technical colleges also tend to be extremely more affordable than a four-year program. Tennessee’s government has continued to make scholarships available, specifically for technical colleges.
The average cost for university tuition is currently around $10,000 to $11,000 while technical college tuition is around $5,000 to $10,000. Making a degree more affordable and attainable for those that want to receive a degree – but can’t quite afford a four-year university.
If you are interested in attending TCAT or are interested in more information, you can visit TCAT’s website https://tcatjackson.edu/. If you are interested in scheduling a tour of the campus, you can visit https://tcatjackson.edu/future-students/schedule-visit.
(PHOTO: Karen Larsen, TCAT vice president for instruction and institutional effectiveness)
