The strategic plan under which Virginia’s Community Colleges have been operating since 2003 is called Dateline 2009. As suggested by its name, the plan’s six-year window is approaching an end. You can see the progress that has been made on it by visiting this dashboard.
As you can read in this VCCS news release the process is beginning for establishing the next strategic plan:
A group of VCCS officials, led by Glenn DuBois, chancellor of the VCCS, [is conducting] a series of community discussions across Virginia to understand how the colleges can improve the service they provide to students, families and businesses. A dedicated email address, ideas@vccs.edu, is also being launched to collect comments.
…The regional meetings will include business, community and elected leaders along with economic development officials, students and other stakeholders.
The email address mentioned above is open to everyone both inside and outside of Virginia’s Community Colleges. It’s an effort to ensure that no good ideas are left behind for a network of colleges that serve more than 360,000 people across Virginia each year.
So the question is what can your community college do, or do better, to contribute to your success and to that of the larger community?
VaHigherEd Podcast: Episode 16- This podcast episode features Chancellor Glenn DuBois, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Human Resources Chris Lee, and participants in the Chancellor’s Faculty Diversity Program discussing ways the program is expanding to meet the goal of a more diverse faculty for Virginia’s Community Colleges.
Reaching out to students in master’s and doctoral programs at Virginia’s top universities, as well as reaching out to organizations for minority professionals, will highlight Virginia’s Community Colleges as a great place for a career.
Listen by clicking on the audio link above or downloading the link to VaHigherEd Podcast: Episode 16.
And while that’s true on average for student enrollment — which is about one-third minority — when you look at the faculty, he says, “It falls far short.”
The Chancellor’s Graduate Student Fellowship has allowed students completing graduate work to teach in Virginia’s Community Colleges under the supervision of a mentor, if they have the requisite hours of course work completed.
Today, several participants of the program met to talk about their experiences and to support an expansion of the program providing even more focus on this area.
By reaching out even further into professional organizations and doctoral program students at Virginia’s top colleges and universities, Virginia’s Community Colleges hope to tap a pool of future faculty that will fall in love with the hands-on atmopshere of a community college — and come back to make it their career.
VaHigherEd Podcast: Episode 15- This week’s podcast features Virginia Western Community College student Stephen Jennings, who is finding the community college a great place to receive hands-on training for a third career in radiology.
Listen by clicking on the audio link above or downloading the link to VaHigherEd Podcast: Episode 15.
Up against national and international competition, Thomas Nelson Community College’s (TNCC) Workforce Development division couldn’t be beat.
Yesterday, Canon Inc. and Canon U.S.A., Inc. announced Canon’s plans to expand its U.S. operations with new facilities and jobs in the Hampton Roads area. Canon is expected to invest more than $600 million to expand the operations of Canon Virginia, Inc., a subsidiary of Canon U.S.A. and create more than 1,000 new jobs.
Dr. Deborah G. Wright, Vice President for Workforce Development for TNCC says,
The project was won on the basis of our Workforce Development proposal. Both Canon and the Virginia Economic Development Parternship said that the state’s economic proposal was good, but not good enough to win the project against at least two other states and three other countries. The proposal development team is the best I have had the opportunity to participate in over 30 years of my service.
The proposal included a customized, multi-campus advanced manufacturing recruiting and training program valued at over $16 million. Two-thirds of funding will come from sources that include the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), TNCC, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance (VDBA) and the Peninsula Workline One Stop.
The Southeast Virginia Community College Training Alliance, led by Dr. Wright, includes the VCCS, TNCC, four regional community colleges, VDBA, the Peninsula Council for Workforce Development, the Peninsula Worklink One Stop system, Old Dominion University and Canon Management. TNCC will recruit and train new employees to deliver 880 technicians and supervisors over three years.
Governor Timothy Kaine said a key driver of the expansion decision was the development of a pipeline to recruit and train the new employees. The Virginia Community College System provided the pipeline.
Dr. Glenn DuBois, Chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges said,
This is an incredible partnership that will connect highly-desired employees with highly-desired jobs, benefitting the entire community. By creating this pipeline, we are connecting people who have retired from the military, advanced technology students and others seeking a new opportunity with a college curriculum that has been explicitly designed to meet Canon’s demanding job specifications.
The hiring pipeline will be modeled after the Southeast Virginia Advanced Manufacturing Pipeline led by TNCC that in three years has placed more than 3,500 skilled workers in jobs with some 60 companies in Hampton Roads, working in collaboration with the region’s workforce boards, one stop centers, and community colleges.
VaHigherEd Podcast: Episode 14- This week’s VaHigherEd podcast features First Lady Anne Holton, keynote speaker at the Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy on April 23, 2008.
The First Lady paid tribute to the philanthropy leaders being honored from Virginia’s 23 community colleges and shared her passion for Virginia’s families and their youth through the foster care initiative she is spearheading.
Virginia’s Community Colleges have initiated a complementary program, in partnership with the First Lady, called “Great Expectations,” helping Virginia’s foster care youth through higher education.
Listen to her keynote address by clicking on the audio link above or downloading the link to VaHigherEd Podcast: Episode 14.
My colleague, Ellen Davenport, did a great job in this post of summing up what state leaders have done with the Virginia Higher Education bond bill and what it means for Virginia’s Community Colleges:
There are 25 projects included for Virginia’s community colleges. The total value of the projects is estimated at $240.7 million. Community colleges received 23.8% of the total capital outlay funding provided in the bill.
I wanted to add to it by sharing with you some of the news coverage the legislation is getting in media across Virginia (click on the publication’s name to follow a link to the story):
Central Virginia Training Center in Madison Heights received $43 million for safety improvements and planning for the future in a statewide bond package approved Wednesday by the General Assembly.
Those projects include $18.4 million to construct the Dahlgren campus of the University of Mary Washington, $37 million to construct an information and technology convergence center at UMW, and $25.8 million for an academic services building at Germanna Community College.
The bond package includes projects for two community colleges serving Franklin County. It contains $22.7 million for a new science and technology building at Virginia Western Community College. Patrick Henry Community College will receive $8.7 million for a new motorsports workforce development center.
The Virginian-Pilot:
Tidewater Community College will get $36.9 million for a new learning resources building on its Virginia Beach campus and $20.6 million for a new academic building on its Chesapeake campus.
During Special Session I of the General Assembly yesterday, the General Assembly quickly approved SB 5001/HB 5001 which set out planning and funding for capital projects encompassing higher education, state parks, mental health facilities, and state prisons. The capital package was not finished in time for the adjournment of the regular General Assembly session, and new legislation was introduced and conferees appointed on March 13. The capital package was kept confidential until it was unveiled yesterday in a briefing to the members of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. After the General Assembly concluded the reconvened or “veto” session to finish up the governor’s amendments to various pieces of legislation and to the budget bill (HB 30), the General Assembly went into Special Session I to consider the legislation. The Governor has 30 days to sign the bill, but it is unlikely that further changes will be made to the bill.
There are 25 projects included for Virginia’s community colleges. The total value of the projects is estimated at $240.7 million. Community colleges received 23.8% of the total capital outlay funding provided in the bill.
Posted by Ellen Davenport
Special Session II of the General Assembly will be convened by the Governor to address transportation.
Jacob Neal, honored last week as part of the USA Today First USA Team and also the “New Century Scholar” for Virginia, will be leading a group of Virginia’s best and brightest community colleges students tomorrow when they are all honored at the Omni in Richmond.
Fifty-one two-year students in all are part of the Virginia team, and on Wednesday, the top “10″ will be named as the “First Virginia Team.” Jacob automatically earns a place at the head of the First Virginia team by being named the top-ranked community college scholar in Virginia.
If you want to be overwhelmed, just read through the achievements of this year’s group of award winning students.
Governor Tim Kaine released today his amendments to legislation passed by the General Assembly during the 2008 session, including amendments to the 2008-2010 budget. A summary of Kaine’s amendments are contained in this press release. There were 41 budget amendments, including some exchange between general funds and the Virginia College Building Authority for VCCS projects, and language clarifying the salary differential for Northern Virginia Community College Faculty.
Amendments must be approved by a majority of each house of the General Assembly. The General Assembly comes back to consider the Governor’s amendments on April 23.
Listen by clicking on the audio link above or downloading the link to VaHigherEd Podcast: Episode 16.
Jacob Neal, honored last week as part of the 
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