Roane State Community College (RSCC) Introduction and Academics

Introduction

Roane State Community College (RSCC) is a two-year community college in eastern Tennessee. It was founded in 1969. The Main RSCC campus is in Harriman. There are branch campuses in Crossville, Hunstville, Lenoir City, Knoxville, Jamestown, Knoxville, Oak Ridge, and Wartburg.

The main campus features a state-of-the-art humanities building with a large theatre, while the Oak Ridge campus serves over 2,000 students a term and includes a library; several computer labs; art, science, and music labs; a grill; a bookstore; and a health science wing. Evening classes are available on several campuses.

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Information Summary

Ranks 46th in Tennessee and 1768th overall. See the entire top 2,000 colleges and universities list
Overall Score (about)	68.0
Total Cost On-Campus Attendance	$5,943
Admission Success rate	N/A
ACT 75%ile scores	21
Student Ratio Students-to-Faculty	22 : 1
Retention (full-time / part-time)	54% / 49%
Enrollment Total (all students)	5,688

Academics

RSCC offers direct entry work programs in police science, office administration, business management, and over a dozen health science fields. The Associate of Science in Teaching (AST) degree program is designed for students planning on earning teach certification for K-6 from a Tennessee Board of Regents University after their time at RSCC. The contemporary management program at RSCC is designed to allow working students to earn a degree while they continue to be employed.

Health fields at RSCC include Allied Health Sciences, Nursing (RN), Occupational Therapy Assistant, Physical Therapist Assistant, Radiologic Technology, Respiratory Therapy, Dental Hygiene Technology, Opticianry, Health Information, Massage Therapy, Emergency Medical Services, Paramedic, Polysomnography, Medical Transcription, Paramedic, and Diagnosis & Procedural Coding. The LPN Career Mobility program allows licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to become registered nurses (RNs) while continuing to work full-time.

Regents Online Degree Program

The Regents Online Degree Program (RODP) allows students to earn their associate’s degree entirely online and through live video teleconferencing. Proctored testing for RODP is administrated at the Harriman and Oak Ridge campuses. Online education meets in a space known as “Momentum”.

Work Placement

RSCC works actively to place students in direct-entry work programs in jobs in their fields of choice. The college’s job placement rate is around 97%.

Tennessee Tech University 2+2 Program

Students enrolled in the Tennessee Tech University (TTU) may take classes on the Roane State campus for two years then transfer to TTU for the final two years with guaranteed admission and credit transference through the TTU 2+2 program. TTU 2+2 is available for students of both elementary education and interdisciplinary studies.

Transfer Opportunities

RSCC has a high rate of transfer to four year institutions. To facilitate such transfers, the college has articulation agreements with a number of four-year colleges and institutions, including Austin Peay State University, Carson-Newman College, East Tennessee State University, Lincoln Memorial University, Maryville College, Middle Tennessee State University, Savannah College of Art and Design, Strayer University, Tennesee Tech, Tennessee Wesleyan, Trevecca Nazarene, University of Tennessee, and Union University.

International Education

RSCC’s International Education program facilitates educational opportunities for students to travel to France, England, Italy, Haiti, Ecuador, and many other countries. While abroad, student have opportunities to participate in art shows, perform in plays and concerts, and attend lectures by internationally renowned scholars.

Advanced Materials Training and Education Center

The Roane State Community College Advanced Materials Training and Education Center (AMTEC) provides fast track training for students entering industries that produce advanced materials or that use advanced materials as part of a manufacturing process, such as carbon fiber or solar energy. Classes take place at the Tennessee Technology Center in Harriman. Courses include Industrial Safety, Basic Computer Skills, Fundamentals of Chemistry, and more.

Learning Center

The Learning Center at RSCC offers individual, small group, and online tutoring services. Students have the opportunity to learn new, effective study skills; gain models of responsible scholarship and engagement; and exposure to workshops helping them master new skills, difficult concepts, and complete assignments in a timely fashion.

In addition to professional tutors who have master’s degrees in their areas of study, the Learning Center also employs student tutors who have at least a 3.5 GPA in their area of expertise and at least a 3.0 GPA overall. All tutors have had additional training in how to best meet the needs of RSCC students.

Students should bring assignments to tutoring sessions with them already completed to the best of their ability. Tutors won’t proofread papers or correct mistakes, but they will discuss the type of mistakes a student makes and give them tools to learn to do their own proofreading. All services that are available to students on campus are also available to online learners through the Learning Center Online. Students can upload a paper to the website and receive feedback from a professional tutor within 48 hours.

Most Popular Fields of Study

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Admissions

In keeping with their mission to offer higher education to any adult in their catchment area who wishes to receive it, RSCC has open admissions. Registrations in some programs may have additional requirements or restraints, particularly in health care.

Financial Aid

In addition to the usual array of state and federal financial aid options, RSCC administrates several of their own scholarships. 81% of students receive financial aid of some sort.

Student Financial Aid Details

Ranks 6306th for the average student loan amount.
Secrets to getting the best scholarships and financial aid in Tennessee.

Students

Demographics

There are roughly 5,500 students enrolled at any given time. About 55% of those are full-time and the remaining 45% are part-time. About 40% of the student body is male and 60% is female. Nearly 80% of students attend full time. About 1% of the registrants are international students.

Clubs and Organizations

There are a large number of clubs and organizations at RSCC to fulfill personal and professional student interests. They include:

American Chemical Society Student Section, an organization in which students take sample tests and attend lectures to enhance their classroom education.

Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM), a bible study group for Baptists that also participates in mission projects.

Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning (ORICL), is a group for seniors interested in furthering their educations through field trips, non-credit courses, and retreats. Membership is open to all senior residents in the RSCC service area. Membership dues entitle members to attend up to five events per semester.

Phi Theta Kappa is an international honor society for community colleges. Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 and have completed at least twelve hours of college credit.

Playmakers is a theatrical company.

Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) promotes awareness about drinking and drug use, especially as pertains to driving.

TAO Astronomical Society promotes interest in astronomy and works to diminish light pollution in Tennessee.

Caney Creek Samples is the RSCC magazine for poetry, short fiction, plays, essays, music, and art.

Roane State Concert Choir performs a repertoire of standard selections at college, public, civic, church, and community events.

Student Government Association (SGA) at RSCC is the representative voice of the student body for the administration.

Food Service on Campus

There are two restaurants at RSCC, Anderson’s Grille and Raider Café. Anderson’s Grille began as a barbeque named Piggs R Us. Today, Anderson’s Grille includes a full cafeteria line for breakfast and lunch including a taco bar, corndogs, paninis, fruit, homemade desserts, and more. Their speciality, however, is still slow-cooked ribs, pork, and chicken barbequed over aged hickory wood.

Raider Café is a traditional café with delivery service and catering service for on-campus events. Standard dishes on the menu include chicken nuggets, French fries, hamburgers, desserts, and more.

Student Enrollment Demographics

Athletics

The athletics department at RSCC is known as the Raiders. Roane State competes in men and women’s basketball, men’s baseball and women’s softball in the NCJAA as a member of the Eastern Division of the Tennessee Junior College Athletic Association.

The Fitness Center at RSCC provides medical screenings, personal fitness evaluations, individually comprised exercise programs, and supervision by qualified staff. The Fitness Center is furnished with weight machines, free weights, stationary bikes, treadmills, elliptical crosstrainers, and an aerobic Super Circuit. The Super Circuit involves alternate resistance exercises and aerobic exercises.

Additional School Information

Tamke-Allan Observatory

The Tamke-Allan Observatory (TAO) at RSCC holds numerous events for students at RSCC and the general public, including the annual Engineers and Astronomers Picnic. TAO also owns a mobile solar observatory which travels to different locations to make presentations to groups as well as to catch the best pieces of dark sky. Astronomers introduce visitors to the Crab Nebula, Saturn, concepts of solar dynamics, and historical astronomy.

Expo Center

The Henry Stafford East Tennessee Agricultural Exposition Center on the Harriman campus hosts a wide range of agricultural and livestock events every year. The 72,000 square foot main building features a heated indoor show ring, holding area, roping chutes, cattle pens, and return alley. There is also an outdoor arena, 300 stall barn, and warm-up pen. The area behind the Expo Center contains a campground with 47 camper hook-ups, each with electric service and water. The Expo Center allows many students opportunities to show horses and livestock or be otherwise involved with agricultural showmanship.

Bibliography

Athletics. Roane State Community College. Web. 26 May. 2011.

Clubs and Organizations. Roane State Community College. Web. 26 May. 2011.

Expo Center. Roane State Community College. Web. 26 May. 2011.

Fiske, Edward B. Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011. Chicago: Sourcebooks, 2010. Print.

Fitness Center. Roane State Community College. Web. 26 May. 2011.

Pope, Loren. Looking Beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That’s Right for You. New York: Penguin. 2007. Print.

Roane State Community College