Tennessee Code Title 49. Education § 49-7-1102

(1) “Institution of higher education” means any four-year college or university, whether public or private, located in this state;

(2) “Parent” means a parent of a student, and includes a natural parent, a guardian, or an individual acting as a parent in the absence of a parent or a guardian, who is paying or has paid any part of the tuition and fees of a student for the current academic year, as defined by the institution of higher education; and

(3) “Student” means any full-time or part-time student, twenty (20) years of age or younger, enrolled in courses at an institution of higher education, who physically attends class on the property of the institution and whose tuition and fees are being paid, even if only in part, by the student's parent. For purposes of this part, persons enrolled exclusively in distance education courses at an institution of higher education are not students.