Virginia’s State Board for Community Colleges has adopted Accelerating Opportunity, a six-year strategic plan that embodies our commitment to speed, convergence, and adaptability.
Accelerate Opportunity is metric-centric with a core focus on providing all students with the knowledge, skills, and credentials necessary for success in the 21st century. Its objectives are precisely aligned with the needs of the Commonwealth’s workforce and the diverse learners we serve, ensuring our system continues to operate at the speed of industry.
The plan goes into effect July 1, 2024, and has this over-arching goal: to award 300,000 cumulative meaningful credentials by 2030 across all regions through accelerated access and success for every student.
The strategic plan includes five supporting objectives, each with targeted metrics, to ensure Virginia’s Community Colleges achieve this goal: Developing Virginia’s Talent, Reaching More Virginians, Delivering Education to Today’s Workforce, Supporting Today’s Learners, and Investing in Virginia’s Workforce.
See the full text of the plan.
Five Objectives
Objective 1: Developing Virginia’s Talent
Provide all students with the knowledge, skills, credentials, and degrees necessary to thrive in dynamic and emerging 21-st century careers.
1.1 Provide 12,500 cumulative meaningful post-secondary credentials to dual and concurrently enrolled students prior to high school graduation by 2030.
1.2 Increase percentage of FastForward completers to 95% annually by 2030.
1.3 Increase percentage of FastForward credential awards to 75% annually by 2030.
1.4 Increase VCCS annual graduates employed in regionally high-demand fields by 6,000 by 2030.
1.5 Increase graduates entering industries with the highest job growth in Virginia to 40% by 2030.
1.6 Increase the percentage of VCCS graduates who achieve upward mobility in Virginia to 50% by 2030.
Objective 2: Reaching More Virginians
Integrate systemwide and college communications to expand the talent pipeline for Virginia employers.
2.1 Increase cumulative enrollment in regionally-aligned high-demand fields by 20,000 students by 2030.
2.2 Increase the annual number of students enrolled in FastForward by 20% by 2030.
2.3 Increase annual application yield to 66% by 2030.
2.4 Increase the annual number of working-age adults enrolled by 14,000 by 2030.
2.5 Increase the percentage of military-affiliated students to 15% of annual credit headcount by 2030.
2.6 Increase annual number of incarcerated students enrolled by 25% by 2030.
Objective 3: Delivering Education to Today’s Learners
Support educational excellence in student success through the development of a world-class cadre of employees focused on high-impact instructional practices.
3.1 Increase the number of full-time faculty engaged in professional development opportunities to broaden understanding of relevant emerging topics for student success by 50% by 2030.
3.2 All colleges will offer shortened sessions for courses included in the Passport and Uniform Certificate of General Studies (UCGS) by 2030.
3.3 All courses required by the Passport and UCGS will be available online asynchronously every semester by 2030.
3.4 Increase annual online headcount by 8,000 students by 2030.
3.5 Expand credit-for-prior-learning options to all FastForward credentials by 2030.
Objective 4: Supporting Today’s Learners
Provide all students with a culture of care that responds to the needs of our student population and supports and inspires their educational and career success.
4.1 Increase annual percentage of program-placed students applying for financial aid to 75% by 2030.
4.2 Increase Financial Aid for FastForward (FANTIC) application completion by 15% by 2030.
4.3 All front-line support staff will participate in at least one professional development on financial resources to equip them to be able to respond accurately to most student inquiries by 2030.
4.4 Increase students engaged in paid internships and apprenticeships programs by 25% by 2030.
4.5 Increase usage of student wrap-around support services by 10% by 2030.
Objective 5: Investing in Virginia’s Workforce
Provide all students with access to affordable college education that support their need for financial flexibility while also supporting the vitality and sustainability of our colleges.
5.1 Approve and implement the VCCS model for including licensure and certification examination fees for credit programs by 2030.
5.2 Seek additional FastForward funding investments from the Commonwealth to address the ongoing annual growth of the programs by 2030.
5.3 Seek additional annual funding for capacity-building efforts in regionally-identified high-demand programs.
5.4 Increase funds available for student emergency needs at all VCCS institutions.
5.5 Complete assessment of facilities and make recommendations for renovation or replacement by 2030.
5.6 Seek funding support for renovation and replacement of facilities exceeding useful life by 2030.
5.7 Review current student fee structures and identify opportunities for modifications by 2030.
5.8 Review current pay-for-performance model and current funding model by 2030.