What the IPEDS Data Shows for Colleges in Tennessee

Tennessee has 145 Title IV-participating postsecondary institutions in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the federal directory that captures every college eligible to award federal student aid. The ownership mix is 47 public institutions, 48 private nonprofits, and 50 private for-profit schools – a structural split that drives most of the tuition variation visible in the table below. Public institutions typically report substantially lower in-state tuition because state appropriations subsidize the published price, while private nonprofits often show higher sticker prices that are partially offset by institutional aid.

Cost and selectivity signals vary widely even within a single state. The average in-state tuition across Tennessee institutions is $19,179, and the average admission rate (weighted by institutions that report one) sits at 71.4%. Admission rates from IPEDS exclude open-enrollment institutions, which is why community colleges and many for-profits show as unreported rather than at 100 percent. Looking at the table, the acceptance-rate column is blank for schools that don’t screen applicants, a meaningful distinction when evaluating selectivity alongside earnings.

Post-graduation outcomes tie cost to return. Graduates of Tennessee colleges earn a mean of $40,594 ten years after enrollment, based on U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal aid applicants through the College Scorecard data file. Because earnings depend heavily on field of study and local labor markets, state-level averages should be read alongside each school’s program mix. The table sorts every institution with reported IPEDS enrollment so prospective students can compare acceptance rates, enrollment scale, and median earnings side by side rather than relying on third-party rankings.