South College held “Tennessee Signing Day” at its flagship campus in Knoxville to welcome incoming students enrolling as Tennessee Promise participants and invite them to officially meet the campus president, engage with fellow students and commemorate the occasion with photos.
The event took place on June 5 at South College’s campus at 3904 Lonas Drive, and approximately 80 high school graduates, including ones who have been home-schooled, participated in games and took signing photos with Neil Heatherly, president of the Knoxville campus.
Nearly 600 Tennessee Promise students enrolled at South College’s Tennessee campuses for the 2025-2026 school year, including 332 students in Knoxville and 260 students in Nashville.
“We wanted to hold a special ‘signing day’ ceremony to welcome our Tennessee Promise students in Knoxville,” Heatherly said. “This also gave the incoming students a chance to meet each other on campus as they prepare to start their college journey. The Tennessee Promise program has provided so many students in our state with an opportunity to pursue higher education, and we are happy they chose South College.”
Tennessee Promise, which began in 2015, is a last-dollar scholarship, covering college tuition and mandatory fees for in-state students not already paid by the Pell Grant, HOPE Scholarship or Tennessee Student Assistance Award.
Enrollment in the Tennessee Promise program in Knoxville and Nashville increased substantially over the past three academic years with 465 South College students in 2023-24, climbing to 619 students in 2024-25, the highest enrollment to date, and held steady in 2025-26 with 599 students.
Within the last academic year, South College has graduated 142 participants in the Tennessee Promise program with 71 at the Knoxville campus, 62 at the Nashville campus and the other nine online.
South College has two Knoxville campuses with its Lonas campus at 3904 Lonas Drive and its Parkside campus at 400 Goody’s Lane. South College Nashville is located at 616 Marriott Drive.
South College offers more than 150 academic programs and concentrations at multiple levels, including professional certificates and associate, bachelor’s, master’s, educational specialist and doctoral degree programs via campuses in Knoxville and Nashville, Tennessee; Asheville, North Carolina; Atlanta and Marietta, Georgia; Indianapolis, Indiana; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Dallas, Texas; and Orlando, Florida, as well as Online and through Competency-Based Education (CBE).
To learn more about South College, visit south.edu.
