Appealing to the Commonwealth to Help Connect Students to Their Futures

Today’s topic is an overview of the Virginia Community College System messaging and funding request during the current legislative session.

This session, VCCS is focused on achieving the funding needed to connect students to economic opportunity and grow the talent pipeline in the Commonwealth. Last year, the system served 230,000 students, with almost a third of them being NOVA students. These students come to our colleges seeking brighter futures: 89% of all VCCS students are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed (ALICE). Without access to meaningful credentials and valuable degrees, they are left on the outside looking in, unable to connect to high-demand, high-wage jobs.

Virginia’s community colleges are high performing but underfunded. Graduation and transfer rates are up across the system. VCCS students gain $5.70 in lifetime earnings for every $1 they spend on tuition; Virginia taxpayers gain $2.70 in added revenue. The figures for NOVA are even more impressive: the return for students is $8.70 and for taxpayers, $4.40. However, VCCS institutions receive just .57 cents for each dollar of funding per full-time equivalent student when compared to Virginia’s public universities. And, we receive lower per-student funding even when compared to community colleges in other states: 77% of the nation’s community colleges spend more per student.

Over 81% of VCCS graduates stay in the state, so an investment in the system is truly a lasting investment in the Commonwealth. Virginia’s community colleges can scale existing successful career pathway programs, grow the talent pipeline for the most in-demand sectors and build pathways to opportunity for Virginians—but only if our colleges are funded to support this essential work.

This legislative session, VCCS is seeking $198M in additional funding in the biennium budget to expand the talent pipeline in high-demand sectors—including, in our region, healthcare and information technology. This funding amendment is patroned by two members of the General Assembly from Richmond: Senator Hashmi (herself, a former Reynolds Community College professor) and Delegate Carr.

In addition, because a number of these high-demand sectors, especially in Northern Virginia, require a bachelor’s degree for entry and advancement, we are also seeking a language change to the current G3 program so that students in education, information technology and healthcare transfer pathways can access this workforce scholarship program. This is a language change only, but an important one that—significantly—requests no additional dollars. Two members of our delegation have patroned the G3 expansion amendment: Senator Boysko and Delegate Sickles.

You can reach out to Government Relations Director José Dimas to learn more about the VCCS legislative agenda, including how you can become involved. And, if you want to know who your representatives in Richmond are, you can use this handy search tool. Your voice matters!