Vol State

Volunteer State Community College is reopening all campuses starting July 20: Gallatin, Springfield, Cookeville, and Livingston. It will be a safe reopening with masks and social distancing required for everyone on campus and an online screening form filled out before people come to campus. The goal is to get students and people considering college ready for fall classes. Safety is a primary consideration for the fall semester.

Sumner County Middle College High School students were finally able to gather for a graduation ceremony at Volunteer State Community College Saturday. The event was held with appropriate COVID-19 precautions. It was the largest graduating class ever for the Middle College with forty-five students awarded high school diplomas. Thirty-one of those students also received associate degrees from Vol State during the college virtual ceremony in May. Middle College High School students take Vol State classes, earning high school and college credit at the same time.

Students celebrated graduation recently from Apprenti TN, a technology-focused apprenticeship program. The outdoor ceremony was held at Volunteer State Community College, with appropriate COVID-19 precautions. The nine graduates completed a four-part curriculum taught by the Nashville Software School, leading to national certifications with tech classes that included: IT Fundamentals for Computer Support and Troubleshooting; Networking Configuration and Support; Operating Systems Support Fundamentals; and Security Concepts.

Volunteer State Community College's Springfield campus has received approval from the Tennessee Board of Regents to offer complete college degree programs in Robertson County starting this fall semester. The college has offered classes at the Springfield campus since 2011. Thus far, students have had to combine the courses offered in Springfield with other courses held online or on the Vol State Gallatin campus in order to obtain a degree.

The new Medical Assisting program at Volunteer State Community College can prepare students for the fastest growing health care profession in the nation. Students train to work in a doctor’s office or a healthcare clinic. That can eventually lead to a career in management and administration. Duties of the medical assistant include, but are not limited to: recording case histories, taking vital signs, giving injections, EKG work, help with lab testing, and assisting the doctor in the setup and performance of minor office surgeries.

The hardships of the current economy has many people considering new career paths and increased interest in building new job skills. The Volunteer State Community College Division of Workforce & Economic Development is offering ten free online non-credit courses to help:

Fundamentals of Supervision and Management

Volunteer State Community College recently loaned ventilators from the college’s Respiratory Care program to area hospitals as part of the effort to supply health care workers with the equipment they need to save lives. One ventilator was sent to Sumner Regional Medical Center in Gallatin. Two other ventilators will be loaned to Centennial Medical Center in Nashville.

The application for the next group of students for the Vol State Nursing program is now available. Selected students will begin classes in the Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S) degree program in late May. It prepares students to apply to sit for licensure as a Registered Nurse. All general education, science, and elective courses required must be complete or in progress at the time of application, with a minimum GPA of 3.3. The students most likely to be ready to apply for the A.A.S. Nursing program will be Pre-Nursing students at Vol State and other colleges.