Effective fall 2025, tuition for out-of-state students at Pellissippi State will be about 50% less than it was previously, for a total of about $4,500 for 12 credit hours.

“We are very excited on behalf of our current and future nonresident students,” said Leigh Anne Touzeau, assistant vice president of Enrollment Services at Pellissippi State. “The drop in out-of-state tuition will make Pellissippi’s world-class educational and career opportunities that much more accessible to a wider audience.”

The change to nonresident tuition, which was formerly around $8,000 for 12 credit hours, will particularly benefit out-of-state students in the Rocky Top Transfer Program – which allows select applicants to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to be admitted after completing one year of coursework at Pellissippi State.

It also means the same drop in tuition for international students like Monsurat Afolashade Aina, who is originally from Nigeria and is slated to graduate from Pellissippi’s nursing program in fall 2026.

The previous tuition rates were difficult to pay, Aina said, to the point she had to borrow money and could afford little beyond her school fees and textbooks.

The drop in tuition is a huge relief.

“Now that it has been reduced, I can buy more stuff and maybe enjoy a little bit while being a student,” said Aina, who emphasized her love for her community at Pellissippi’s Magnolia Avenue campus.

Miguel R. Bulnes Tosta, another international student, came to Pellissippi State from Honduras to expand his knowledge and hopefully pursue an education in dental hygiene.

It can already be difficult for international students to settle down in a new place and culture, Bulnes Tosta said, without worrying about paying nearly $10,000 in tuition for a single semester.

“(But) having that lower tuition fee, it’s like – allowing you to breathe a little bit more,” he said. “So, it is very helpful.”

Pellissippi State Community College is a public community college based in Knox and Blount counties in Tennessee and operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The college operates four campuses: Hardin Valley, Blount County, Strawberry Plains and Magnolia Avenue.

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