On May 17, 2018, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission gave its approval for Knoxville College to once again reopen its doors and offer classes.

[4] This school initially met in the First Baptist Church building (which at the time was located on Gay Street) before moving to a permanent facility in East Knoxville in 1866.

[4] In spite of general apathy from the city's leaders and threats from poor whites, the school's enrollment gradually grew to over 100.

[10] William Wallace Derrick had been an African American faculty member at Knoxville College and helped establish the short lived medical department.

[4] Six years later, the school established the Eliza B. Wallace Hospital, which served a dual purpose of training nurses and tending to the health needs of the local black community.

[4] In 1913, John Henry Michael, the head of the school's mechanical department, designed the "Negro Building" for the National Conservation Exposition, which was held across town at Chilhowee Park.

During World War I, Knoxville College students helped raise money for liberty bonds and the Red Cross.

[1] As enrollment plummeted, the school's debt skyrocketed and it was soon unable to pay its faculty or electric bills.

Throughout the rest of the 1990s, as enrollment plummeted, most campus buildings were shuttered and abandoned, with most degree programs being discontinued.

[1] Following Hatton's removal, the school's alumni association embarked on an aggressive fundraising campaign in 2006 and 2007 to save the college and return it to solvency.

Enrollment had dwindled to just 11 students, and the college was struggling to pay back a $4.5 million loan from 2003 and more than $425,000 to the federal government for the Stewart Science Hall cleanup.

[20] In May 2016, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation recommended the college become a state Superfund site due to ongoing contamination concerns from the Stewart Science Hall.

The school maintains dormitories for on-campus students, as well as a president's house, and cottages and apartments for faculty.

[30] Many of the earliest buildings were constructed using student labor, student-made bricks, and lumber donated by alumni.

[19] As of 2010[update], Knoxville College offered two degrees: the four-year Bachelor of Liberal Studies, and the two year Associate of Arts.

[2] The curriculum further requires 15 to 18 semester hours of specialization within each concentration, providing for a more in-depth understanding of a particular field.

[2] Knoxville College followed a debt-free policy that allowed students to complete the degree program without the accumulation of debt.

[37] After 1997, Knoxville College dropped most athletics programs due to declining enrollment, but as part of its reorganization, hopes to re-establish men's and women's basketball teams, as well as a cheerleading squad.