JSCC earns national Exemplary Practice Award

Jackson State Community College has been awarded the 2026 Dr. Ronald Rhames Award for Exemplary Practice by Community College Business Officers (CCBO) for an innovative institutional transformation that reversed enrollment decline and improved student success.

Tim Dellinger, Executive Vice President of Finance, Administration, and Student Services; Beth Baligrosky, Assistant Vice President of Financial Reporting; and Seth Harden, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management accepted the award September 24 at the CCBO annual conference in New Orleans.

The award recognizes the college's initiative, "Breaking the Enrollment Bottleneck: A Theory of Constraints-Driven Turnaround at Jackson State Community College," which redesigned enrollment and student support operations to remove barriers that prevented students from successfully progressing from inquiry to enrollment.

The impact of the initiative has been significant. Since implementing the redesign, Jackson State has increased headcount enrollment by 15.63% and full-time equivalent enrollment by 16.63%. By Fall 2025, the college led the Tennessee Board of Regents system in growth rate across multiple categories, including headcount, full-time enrollment, and first-time freshmen.

The transformation also contributed to Jackson State being named the 2026 Tennessee Board of Regents Community College of the Year.

“This Exemplary Practice award affirms the dedication and innovation of our faculty and staff. Their willingness to embrace new ideas, collaborate across the institution, and continuously improve the student experience is what makes Jackson State a leader in higher education,” said Dr. Carol Rothstein, President of Jackson State Community College. “We are honored to receive this award and proud of the dedicated employees who made this achievement possible.”

In both Fall 2024 and Fall 2025, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission reported that Jackson State enrolled the largest freshman classes among Tennessee's reportable colleges and universities. Additionally, students dropped for nonpayment declined by 83.78%, reflecting improvements in onboarding speed, financial aid processing, and alignment of student support.

CCBO is a network of professionals that moves community colleges forward through relevant professional development and thought leadership. The Dr. Ronald Rhames Award for Exemplary Practice honors community colleges whose innovations demonstrate measurable impact and provide models that can be replicated by institutions nationwide.