Knoxville, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee is working to reach even more people across the state, educating people and giving them the unique skills needed to compete for jobs.

And part of how they plan to do that is to expand their online education options. UT System President Randy Boyd said the college is working to reach more working adults and non-traditional students, giving them classes that fit their schedules.

“Your typical 35-year-old mom with two kids in a rural county who doesn’t have to drive to campus every day,” Boyd said, describing the kind of person the college is looking to provide an apprenticeship in. line. “We want to do a better job of reaching working adults, the state of Tennessee needs to accomplish the ‘Drive to 55’ to meet workforce needs.”

The “Drive to 55” is an effort by state leaders to graduate 55% of the state’s population with a college degree or certificate by 2025, expanding the skills workers have to offer employers. Officials say it’s a mission for the state’s future workforce and economic development, not just higher education.

The Tennessee Promise and Tennessee Reconnect programs are both part of the initiative, which helps pay people to attend higher education institutions.

UT officials said they recently saw an increase in enrollment. Usually they see a 2% increase in the number of potential students applying to attend college. But this way they saw 2.7% more requests.

Boyd said part of the increase was due to the UT Promise Scholarship, which allows students to attend tuition-free as long as their family’s household income is below $60,000 per year.

However, many students already at UT said they preferred to attend classes in person. Many said it helped them learn more and enrich their college experience, especially with staff nearby to guide them through difficult lessons.

Boyd said school leaders are always working to expand their course offerings and that UT should offer online-only institutions online courses.