Jump to navigation Skip to Content
A new 30,000 square foot building at the TCAT Elizabethton Main Campus and conversion of the Boones Creek School in Washington County into a TCAT Extension Campus are in the current facilities plan.
The next step in the process is for the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) to submit capital outlay requests, totaling $12 million plus for the two projects, to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for their approval.
College President Dean Blevins said the new building at the Main Campus, 426 Highway 91 North, would house training programs now offered at 1500 Arney Street. These include Diesel Powered Agriculture Equipment Technology, Cosmetology, Welding (second full time day program) and Criminal Justice Technology.
Some TCAT Elizabethton facilities at the Herman Robinson campus, original campus site, 1500 Arney Street, Elizabethton, were constructed in 1963 and are still housing student training today.
“We have also been looking at new programs for the Main Campus that include Automotive Collision Repair Technology, Drone (Aviation Technology), Computer Aided Design and several additional Health Sciences Programs,” Blevins said.
According to Blevins, the need for the Washington County Extension Campus at Boones Creek is the availability of the facility (donated by Washington County) that needs renovation to house Construction Trades, Heavy Equipment Operator, Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism, Early Childhood Care and also duplicating existing programs (Nursing, Cosmetology, etc.).
“The Boones Creek School and Main Campus projects were also contained in the 2015-20 Strategic Plan and are now part of TCAT Elizabethton's Physical Facilities Five-Year Plan,” Blevins said.
TCAT Elizabethton also plans to establish dual enrolment courses for high school students in Kingsport and Bristol and create a new extension campus in the Bristol Industrial Park. Blevins also presented the TCAT Elizabethton Program Completion, Job Placement and Licensure Pass Rate, which showed a 90 percentile rate in each category.
Finally, TBR contracted with the Atlanta architectural firm of TSW to review physical facilities at the 27 TCATs and to make recommendations for a system-wide facilities master plan by the end of 2021.
Blevins made these announcements Nov. 16 at the TCAT General Advisory Committee meeting. The committee meets at least once each year to review existing programs and to make recommendations on new programs that are needed. Contact TCAT Elizabethton at 423-543-0070 for additional information.
