BlueSky Tennessee Institute

Program Description:

A collaboration between East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST), the BlueSky Tennessee Institute program offers participants a 27-month, ABET-accredited B.S. in Information Systems with a concentration in Healthcare Management & Analytics. The program serves learners primarily from Hamilton County and the surrounding communities.  

The Institute program has a three-part mission. It meets BCBST’s critical business needs by offering local learners an accelerated, hands-on opportunity to train for and find a place in their technology workforce. It meets the community’s needs by providing an inclusive path for its residents to transformative career opportunities, hiring more local talent for rewarding technical jobs, and increasing the local supply of software developers and cybersecurity specialists. It meets learners’ needs by offering individualized support and equipping learners with the skills, experiences, and relationships that position them for success at work and in their community. 

This cohort-based, accelerated degree program is delivered at no cost to the graduates thanks to philanthropic support and guarantees learners a no-obligation job offer upon graduation. Learners receive mentoring by BCBST executives throughout the program and participate in 10 credit hours of internships over the last 15 months of the program. Internships are offered in a range of roles, including cybersecurity, network administration, human resources, IT relationship roles, and application development. 

BCBST first approached ETSU about a workforce development partnership to address its chronic tech staffing shortage in the Fall of 2019. BCBST had considered a micro-credential or certification, but the company instead wanted to support a well-rounded experience for learners to have a liberal arts education. BCBST wanted to do more than just prepare a graduate to be successful as a computing professional, but to be a future leader in the company. BCBST provided to ETSU a targeted skill set inventory for an entry-level employee with around 200 skills listed, including technical and durable skills, such as critical thinking, interpersonal competencies, and oral and written communication skills. ETSU faculty then mapped this detailed list to its own course outcomes as a part of the curriculum design process. 

During the height of the pandemic, the Chair and faculty of ETSU’s Department of Computing and the Dean of the College of Business and Technology leveraged virtual meeting opportunities and met intensively over a short time period. ETSU responded to BCBST’s RFP with a well-received full proposal and had a curriculum plan developed by October of 2020. The group worked with accreditors and the state agency to gain approval for the new remote campus co-located at BCBST in Chattanooga. The program then recruited its first cohort, teaching participants in the new facility within just two years of the initial BCBST outreach. In May 2024, BCBST and ETSU renewed their BlueSky contract, adding newly agreed-upon learner success metrics.  

Cross-sector champions and supporters were key to the program’s initial development and continue to make ongoing contributions to the program’s success:  

• BCBST – initiated outreach and contributes to program delivery costs;  

• Dean of Business and Technology – the primary ETSU champion, coordinates cross-departmental working groups from academics, admissions, recruitment, student support, financial aid, and facilities;  

• University and company leadership – ETSU President and BCBST CEO both serve on a Joint Leadership Committee that meets quarterly and BCBST CEO and its executive team members serve as intern mentors;  

• The BCBST Foundation – provides scholarship support covering all student educational expenses;  

• Local philanthropies and public funding sources: Chattanooga-area educational foundations, including the Benwood Foundation, offer additional scholarship and learner support; two separate investments of $1 million from the State of Tennessee. 

Program leaders note that the full stakeholder buy-in across departments required for a successful institutional commitment moved the program forward at ETSU where it had not at other institutions BCBST approached, suggesting the decisive value of institutional alignment at the highest levels. However, several challenges needed to be overcome in the initial program development stage, including the accreditation process, building buy-in across campus departments, and designing a unique, accelerated degree path focused on learner support and retention.  

How It Works:

To meet core program goals, a full-time recruiter visits priority high schools in the area and helps applicants prepare their materials. The program design—intensive learner supports, scaffolding of classroom and professional experience, and mentoring—helps a diverse group of individuals succeed, regardless of their high school GPA, and ultimately propels them into a career with the skills they need and a path to career progression. 

Learners must first apply and be admitted to ETSU, after which they apply to the BlueSky Institute. The program selects about 30 participants a year from almost 150 applications. Program leaders interview 60 to 80 applicants, to gauge learner’s interest and final selection is based on financial need, academic preparation, and interest in computing, among other factors.  

Learners attend their computing major courses in person at the headquarters of BCBST in Chattanooga with ETSU faculty on-site, while taking general education courses at ETSU remotely. Participants have access to support personnel onsite at BCBST as well as to all ETSU student services available at the main campus in Johnson City about 200 miles away.  

While studying, participants work alongside professionals, being mentored, evaluated, and guided by supervisors, project leads, and others. As a result, graduates are likely to have interacted with at least 20 professionals in their field of interest, developing a strong social capital network. Participants receive all the program support but are not themselves obligated to work for BCBST upon graduation.

Impact:

Initially, learner interest in the program was obvious: twice as many enrolled as were expected in the first cohort. ETSU and BCBST leadership were interested in a comprehensive picture of impact and have used methods to measure program outcomes that range from the results of the active advising system to “Coffee with the Executive Director” sessions for informal student feedback. Learner success metrics were identified throughout the first stages of program implementation and codified in the 2024 contract renewal to establish a more formal system of outcomes tracking. Key program metrics to track include: 

• Cohort retention to on-time graduation 

• Enrolled-to-employed rate 

• Percentage of graduates accepting BCBST job offers 

• Weekly student watch-list tracking (academic + life challenges) 

• Learner success metrics formalized in May 2024 contract renewal 

The program has stabilized at around 30 participants and a 97 percent retention rate, far above the rate for traditional bachelor’s degree programs. In the first two cohorts: 87 to 93 percent enrolled-to-employed rates, after some participants decide to not complete the program, and 100 percent of graduates receiving and accepting BCBST job offers. In the first cohort, all 28 graduates received and accepted a job from BCBST and two years after this cohort’s graduation, 27 of the 28 are still employed there, a very high proportion for hired employees in general. Of the program’s second cohort, 28 of 30 participants graduated and accepted job offers from and continue to work at BCBST. Informal feedback from alumni show they enjoy their jobs, are well-established in their careers, and have “no regrets or disappointments” about pursuing this path.  

Learning over time, the program has evolved its outcome tracking as well as the details of its advising model. Retention has increased as a result over the three cohorts. BCBST also fills over 50 open technology positions with locally-trained graduates, reducing outsourcing of technology jobs, and placing graduates in high-wage, high-demand computing careers. In addition, BlueSky curriculum revision has positively informed updates to ETSU’s other computing programs. 

In the longer term, the program demonstrates a replicable public/private workforce development model for other institutions and that ETSU and other BCBST departments can adopt for future partnerships; rebuilds public trust that a college degree is ‘worth it;’ increases regional supply of software developers and cybersecurity specialists; and expands opportunity to individuals who might not otherwise pursue higher education. Ultimately, this program fulfills the University’s mission, particularly as a regional public institution, serving first-generation college learners and acting as an engine for economic mobility in their local community.  

Page last updated in August 2026