Mission
and Vision

Statement of Mission

Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) is an open-access higher education institution that seeks to provide high quality educational opportunities through its excellent technical and transfer degree programs, certificates, and workforce development initiatives. The College provides leadership in public service and collaborations with education, business, and industry partners to promote success and innovation to improve society at large through education. DSCC focuses on innovative approaches to student success and academic excellence. The College is strongly committed to the development of economic and community partnerships and civic and cultural opportunities.

The College focuses on executing this mission through the following core values:

• Opportunity: We aspire to be the College of Choice for area dual enrollment, traditional, and adult students, regardless of technical or transfer pathway.
• Student Success and Exceptional Student Service: We are invested in ensuring that our students have the best opportunity for academic, career, and personal success through which they can achieve their full potential and life goals.  Students are why we exist.
• Academic Excellence and Innovation: We subscribe to the tenets of academic rigor and development of instructional modalities that promote student success and instructional and academic creativity.
• Integrity: We believe in building trust with students, staff, and the community through responsible actions and honest relationships.  We stand for honesty and truth.
• Unity and Compassion: We strive to work together as a team with our employees, students, and community partners because we realize we are all stronger together.
• Impactful Communication: We endeavor to communicate with external and internal constituencies in a clear, concise, and timely manner to tell the story of the College, its students, and the DSCC community in a manner that values the contributions of all who are engaged and encourages all members to share openly and honestly.

Institutional Mission Profile

Dyersburg State Community College is a comprehensive two-year institution serving nine rural counties in northwest Tennessee, including Crockett, Dyer, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion, Henry, Haywood, Weakley, and Tipton.  The College provides educational opportunities through its home campus in Dyersburg, the Jimmy Naifeh Center at Tipton County in Covington, the DSCC Henry County Center in Paris, and the new TCAT Jackson-Stanton Extension Campus. Dyersburg State was recognized as the 2025 College of the Year at the annual TBR SOAR Awards, indicating that the college has demonstrated, through evidence, a sustained commitment to student success and workforce development. In Fall 2024, 3,326 students enrolled at Dyersburg State, including 1,124 dual enrollment and middle college students. Twenty-seven percent of Dyersburg State students were adults ages 25 and older, and 37% were low-income students. Additionally, in 2023-2024, the College provided 51,303 hours of workforce training. Dyersburg State offers 12 associate degrees and 24 certificate programs, including the College’s notable Nursing, Emergency Medical Technician, Paramedic, and Business Administration programs and the Surgical Technology Program at the Jimmy Naifeh Center in Tipton County. The new Associate of Applied Science degree in Culinary Arts (pending SACSCOC approval) and Technical Certificate in eSports, made possible by the receipt of a GIVE 3.0 grant, will be offered in academic year 2025-2026 on the main campus and in area high schools. Launched in the fall of 2023, the Eagle Accel program is designed for working adults needing a flexible schedule while earning an Associate of Science degree in General Studies. Dyersburg State is proud to be the first community college in Tennessee to offer a program for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Since its inception, the Eagle Access program has proudly celebrated the graduation of eight remarkable students. During the 2023-2024 academic year, 686 awards were conferred at Dyersburg State, including 159 Associate of Applied Science degrees, 254 technical certificates, and 273 associate degrees designed to transfer to a university. Strong partnerships with area high schools contribute to successful dual enrollment and middle college programs. The Middle College program serves as a pathway for students to achieve secondary and postsecondary goals simultaneously, which enabled twenty-three middle college graduates to earn the Associate of Science degree in general studies in 2024. Dyersburg State also offers the Associate of Science transfer degree with an emphasis in Business Administration to incarcerated students at the Northwest Correctional Complex and West Tennessee State Penitentiary. Sixty-nine associate degrees have been awarded to incarcerated students at these locations through May 2025. The College offers various student support programs to multiple subpopulations, including Pell-eligible students, first-generation students, adult students, underprepared students, dual enrolled students, and veteran students.