VaHigherEd.com

We’ll be back posting about legislative and other issues concerning Virginia’s Community Colleges and higher education in the commonwealth in January 2008.  Happy New Year!

This will be the place to link to legislative tracking by choosing “Legislative Line” at the top or right of the page.  All legislative posts are available by choosing the “Legislative News” category at right.

Posted by Susan Hayden

Thankfully, Governor Kaine thinks it’s a good idea, too.  In his remarks to the joint money committees this morning, he mentioned funding to support initiatives that will continue to increase the number of Virginia high school graduates who go on to achieve post-secondary degrees.  These initiatives include funding as well as support for the Career Coaches and Middle College programs. 

Taken from a survey of students who work with Career Coaches, the quote above represents hundreds of students praising Virginia’s Community Colleges Career Coaching program.  Career coaches are community college employees placed in local high schools to help students prepare for college and careers.  The program began in 2005 with 11 coaches based at 13 high schools.  Currently, more than 85 coaches are serving students in more than 100 high schools across Virginia.  Last fiscal year, Career Coaches helped 7,000 students develop career and education plans.  Read more about the Career Coaching program!

“Middle College is my second family,” says Dellamae Meadows (enrolled in Middle College at NRCC), “I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.  They believed in me when no one else did and gave me the resources to succeed.”

Middle College is a college recovery program for 18-24 year old students who do not have a high school diploma.  Nearly every student who enters the Middle College program ends up receiving a GED.  Dellamae is one of several hundred students whose life has been dramatically affected by the Middle College program.  Middle Colleges are located at Danville, Germanna, J. Sargeant Reynolds, New River and Southside Virginia community colleges.   

Posted by Heather Millar   

Governor Tim Kaine is proposing an historic $1.65 billion general obligation bond for higher education.

You can read the details in this press release from his office:

“The proposed bond package supports innovative research, providing facilities across Virginia for researchers to develop new, cutting-edge technologies and turn them into commercial assets,” Governor Kaine said.  “Our colleges and universities also help us build a workforce prepared to compete in a global economy.  These investments will help Virginia’s higher education network keep delivering for our future.”

You can see all of the projects the bond money would be used for by clicking on this link.

VCCS Highlights

• $340 million - 22% of the bond - would be directed to projects at Virginia’s Community Colleges.  (That’s a four-point increase over the 18% of the 2002 bond that went to community colleges.)
• That money would be used for 28 specific projects including at least one on each of the 23 VCCS colleges.
• The majority of those community college projects are focused on enhancing VCCS workforce development efforts.

 To be enacted, the proposal must be approved in the 2008 session of the General Assembly and then again by the voters in fall 2008.  Governor Kaine says that timing would allow the money from the new bonds to pick up just as the projects supported by the 2002 bond are wrapping up - ensuring there’s no gap in the building and renovations of Virginia’s higher education system (the 11th largest in the nation).

Posted by Jeff Kraus

Delegate Robert J. Wittman won election yesterday to the Congressional seat of the late Jo Ann Davis.  The 1st District race concluded with Wittman winning 61percent (42,325) of the total votes cast.  The special Dec. 11 election was held to fill the unexpired term of Davis and featured paper ballots since voting machines were not available awaiting February’s presidential primaries.  The next regular Congressional election will occur next November.   

A special election will have to be held to replace Wittman in the 99th District in the House of Delegates.  Governor Kaine has indicated that he plans to schedule the election as soon as possible.

 Posted by Ellen Davenport

There’s an interesting story in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch about lessons state leaders are learning from the recent successful efforts to convince Rolls-Royce  to locate a new facility in the commonwealth.

Company officials also handed the state a suggestion: The fragmented arrangement among state agencies for developing and educating workers needs fixing.

“Trying to explain 28 different programs in 12 different agencies — that is not a program, that is a nightmare,” said Jay A. Langston, senior research manager for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, which recruits businesses to Virginia and was involved in the Rolls-Royce deal.

“And essentially they told us that.”

Also mentioned was the role Virginia’s Community Colleges and other institutions are playing in the deal:

The state also is putting increased emphasis on technical training programs, and Morris noted that the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and the Virginia Community College system will be actively involved in the Rolls-Royce project, creating two research centers, new professorships, internships and training programs.

What’s even more interesting are comments from Tom Morris, Virginia’s education secretary about a growing threat to the commonwealth’s business reputation:

A larger issue, Morris said, is that only about a third of Virginians ages 18-24 are in post-secondary education, which is below the national average. “If Virginia does not do a better job preparing its students to move into post-secondary education, we will not have the work force that we need,” he said.

Other business people at the conference sounded similar concerns.

You have to wonder how long Virginia can remain America’s “Best State for Business” if that trend continues?

Posted by Jeff Kraus

The committees of the 2008 General Assembly are coming into focus with recent announcements by the leadership of the Senate Democrats and House Republicans.

On December 5, Senate Democrats announced that Richard Saslaw of Fairfax will be majority leader, and will assume chairmanship of the Commerce and Labor Committee.  Charles Colgan of Prince William County will become chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee.  He also will become president pro tempore of the Senate.  Mary Margaret Whipple of Arlington will become leader of the Senate Democratic caucus and chairman of the Rules Committee. 

Other announced Senate chairs and their committees are: 

• Patricia Ticer, Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee
• Henry Marsh, Courts of Justice
• Edward Houck, Education and Health
• Mamie Locke, General Laws
• Louise Lucas, Local Government
• Janet Howell, Privileges and Elections
• Linda Puller, Rehabilitation and Social Services
• Yvonne Miller, Transportation

Refer to the Times-Dispatch  for more information.

The leadership of the House of Delegates has also made some recent decisions.  Speaker of the House William Howell has announced that Delegate Lacey Putney of Bedford will serve as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.  Putney is an independent who caucuses with the Republican party.  The vice chairman of House Appropriations will be Delegate Phillip Hamilton  of Newport News.

House Republicans have also announced that they will organize the House committees in the same manner as they did after the last election, with proportional Republican and Democratic representation.  Each committee will contain 13 Republicans and 9 Democrats.  This process is described in an article in today’s Times-Dispatch.

Posted by Ellen Davenport

Fewer than 50 percent of U.S. homes receive a newspaper — and Yahoo and Google are the #1 and #2 source, respectively, of news.

The implications of the changing face of news and media were discussed at a web content management conference I attended last week in Chicago - where Shel Holtz gave his version of the “State of the Web.”

Word of mouth is the most trusted selling tool — 22 blogs are among the top 100 news sources — 72,000 media jobs have been eliminated since 2000…..and the old models of “central sources” of information are failing fast.

With more pod casts than radio stations, it’s time to think harder about communicating with folks that want to find their answers on Facebook, in IM’s from their friends, and in blogs and podcasts. That’s the “edge,” and that’s where people are experiencing our organizations.  That’s where they get their first impressions, and where they get their “brand information.”

Old media — including newsprint – isn’t dead, according to Holtz.  But it needs to move aside to make room for collaborative and conversational tools that are quickly becoming the inside track for perception and influence.

Becoming part of the conversation at VaHigherEd.com is one way to join in.

Posted by Susan Hayden