The Complete College Act, passed by the Tennessee legislature and signed by Governor Bredesen in January 2010 in a special session of the legislature devoted to education, was intended to enhance cooperation between colleges and universities in the UT and Tennessee Board of Regents systems and move students forward to college degrees.
The act changed the state funding formula to one based on six-year graduation rates rather than on enrollment, eased the transition for community college students moving on to state universities, required UT and TBR to establish dual-admission and dual-enrollment policies between two- and four-year colleges and universities, and required community colleges to offer all remedial work.
The funding formula change was a critical element of the act. From 1968 to 1970, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission worked with Tennessee higher education institutions to develop the previous funding formula based on cost studies done by all institutions. Prior funding mechanisms had been based on inflation, per-student allocation, and new program costs recommended. The formula, based on enrollments and costs associated with various programs, was first applied for the 1971–72 year, and constituted THEC’s recommended funding for each institution. (THEC also submitted a continuation budget based on the formula and a floor budget based upon previous methods used to recommend appropriations.) The formula was first fully funded, meaning that THEC’s total recommendation for funding for all colleges and universities was appropriated by the legislature, in 1986 for the 1986–87 academic year.