Dear Northeast State Students,
I would like to welcome you to Northeast State where the faculty and
staff have created a warm and welcoming learning environment. Because of
its dedicated faculty and staff, Northeast State has one of the highest
retention and graduation rates in the state. Our graduates learn skills
and gain knowledge that helps them become successful, with 95% placing
into jobs in their fields of study. Additionally, our graduates regularly
meet or exceed critical performance measures. These performance measures
include general education competency exams, major field tests, academic
program reviews, and licensure exams. Several of these performance
measures compare Northeast State graduates against other students from
across the state or nation.
A new initiative at Northeast State, called STEP
(Strategies for Teaching Excellence Program), focuses on helping
students learn more effectively. Over the next several years, instructors
will be utilizing research-based instructional strategies to improve
student learning and more actively engage students in the learning
process. These strategies will charge the students with setting,
monitoring, and pursing learning goals; encourage them to take the
initiative to find solutions to answers on their own; show them how to
learn in groups; and help them to relate what they have learned in the
classroom to their life, career, and any new situation.
Northeast State offers many support services to help you meet your
goals. Please visit the learning centers located on the Blountville campus
as well as centers located at the Northeast State teaching sites in
Kingsport and Elizabethton if you need tutoring, advising, or other
academic and student support services. It is important that you meet with
your academic advisor at least once a semester to make sure you are on
track for graduation. I encourage you to register early each semester in
order to get the courses you need and to develop a schedule that works
best for you.
To continue receiving financial aid, you must complete the FAFSA (application for federal financial
aid) each year. So your application can be processed in a timely
manner and you will be eligible for special state grants, please complete
the FAFSA application by March 1.
If you need assistance, please contact the office of Financial Aid
and schedule an appointment.
Northeast State has articulation agreements with several four year
colleges, and I encourage you to work with advisors from the college if
you plan to attend after you complete your degree or certificate program
at Northeast State. Throughout the year, Northeast State invites
representatives from four-year colleges and universities to assist you in
your plans to transfer. Also, the Kingsport
Center for Higher Education at Northeast State at Kingsport houses
offices for representatives from Carson Newman, King College, Lincoln
Memorial University, and the University of Tennessee.
Again, welcome and congratulations on selecting Northeast State to
further your education.
