This closing speech was presented by Dr. David Doré at 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 9 at the closing of the Chancellor’s Retreat held in Roanoke, Virginia.
This has been an invigorating few days.
I have a lot of admiration for the leadership in this room and your active involvement in making the Virginia Community College System a shining model for advancing education and driving economic prosperity for the people of Virginia.
Your dedication has not only inspired me but is also setting an example for college systems across the nation. The ideas and discussions shared over the last 48 hours have further proven just how revolutionary we are as a system, about to embark on this path to transforming Virginia and the role of community colleges in advancing economic prosperity and progress.
Together, we have a system that WORKS. The work we do, together, ignites hope and is paving the way for a brighter, more promising future for the Commonwealth and its people.
As we conclude our time together, I want to reiterate my message that there is power in unity and collaboration.
There are 23 individual colleges in this room, with unique strengths and capabilities to serve the local needs of our communities; but as a system, we are an educational powerhouse, intricately aligned with the goals of Virginia, attuned to the unique needs of our regions’ businesses, and able to advocate with one voice for the resources needed to deliver what Virginia needs of us.
Embracing this shift, we’re taking steps forward together as one institution, committed to delivering an unparalleled educational experience to our students and empowering them to thrive in an ever-evolving world.
Transformative ideas have emerged leading up to this week, and evolved over the last two days to a point where I can confidently and excitedly say that we are ready. This is our time to change the future.
Today, I want to share more details with you about the action steps we will be taking, and asking you to take, to achieve the vision we have set for disrupting the status quo and creating the change we know is needed.
I want to stress that what I will share will take support, effort, and an open mind from everyone.
We are aiming for transformation on nearly every level; to create a truly effective shift into the “second curve” for higher education is an all-hands on deck opportunity. This is not only a system office effort, but also a system-wide effort. Everyone has a role to play in our success.
As I mentioned yesterday, we have an opportunity to serve 3.2 million Virginians without postsecondary credentials – these are people with the motivation but not the means, and as a community college system it is up to us to bridge those gaps preventing them, and the rest of Virginia from advancement.
At the end of the day, we not only need more people with these credentials, and with degrees, but we need them to fill the 300,000-plus unfilled jobs that Virginia needs to grow and prosper.
The priorities we have set – to increase regional collaboration, enhance funding for programs that are working, and supporting high school graduates for immediate postsecondary or workforce success – take a giant leap toward filling these jobs through equitable and accessible education, and we can start today.
We already have many of the strengths, competencies and attributes that will allow us to deliver this mission, successfully to the Virginians who need us and the businesses that are hungry for the talent we produce. But…
We will not be best-in-class without significant and strategic financial investment.
The Virginia Community College System remains the least funded of all Virginia public institutions of higher education.
We receive less than 57 cents for every one dollar that goes to support a full-time equivalent student at a public Virginia university.
Moreover, VCCS remains among the lowest funded community college systems in the nation.
The per FTE expenditure at VCCS is in the lowest 23rd percentile when compared to all other community colleges in the nation. This means that 77 percent of all community colleges spend more per student than the VCCS.
These funding discrepancies are further pronounced when we consider who our students are. We serve everyone, but particularly those who face unique socio-economic barriers.
The students we serve are predominantly in the ALICE population and face multiple personal, social, professional, and financial hurdles.
It is counterproductive and counterintuitive to continue operating as though their education and training is not worth the same or more in state funding as those who attend a public university. Our learners are actually the most expensive to successfully serve, and yet are funded the least.
As a result, opportunities remain limited to successfully provide those Virginians, who will most benefit from out programs, with the right skills and credentials.
At current funding levels, we will never break through the job and skills gap barriers we face in the Commonwealth – we need bold and decisive changes and significant investments in our colleges, our infrastructure, and our people.
With the right financial support, the strategic priorities I have laid out prime us to deliver 35,662 additional credentialed employees in high demand fields.
Our two primary sources of funding are tuition and the state.
Our tuition remains less than one-third of the comparable costs at Virginia’s public universities and this distinction is vitally important – providing an affordable option is paramount to retain and grow our student base.
We also know that the Governor and the General Assembly share our commitment for Virginia’s Community Colleges to remain affordable. Therefore, to be best in class, remain affordable for the Virginians who need us, and achieve the transformative change necessary to grow our workforce, we need further investment from the state.
Of course, we cannot expect that the state will simply increase our funding. Virginians – from the Governor to the General Assembly, to your neighbor and mine – want to know that their investment in postsecondary education is producing good value.
We have that proof.
The VCCS track record for providing value is unparalleled, but we can expand on this success.
That is why the priorities we have set are so vital – this strategy focuses our intention on action steps that will bring more students across the goal line and into a career.
Let’s consider exactly what we expect we can achieve in pursuit of these objectives.
What does it mean to increase our regional capacity and how will we do it?
I spoke about the intent and need to align with the nine GO Virginia regions – this will generate the traction needed to scale our programs to meet the needs of businesses in high demand sectors – healthcare, IT and cybersecurity, and manufacturing – and enable us to better leverage each other’s assets for stronger collegiate and workforce partnerships.
We will need to develop state-of-the-art career and technical programs and laboratories, including new investments in equipment, simulators, specialized spaces and building infrastructure.
In some cases, this will mean new development, but in many instances, we will be looking at creative and innovative ways to reimagine the spaces already in use, and hiring up to invest in faculty who have the skills and credentials to effectively train others and ensure we’re maximally utilizing our facilities and technologies to their highest potentials.
Our goal will be to launch 10 new lab schools by 2027 and leverage these spaces to increase FastForward enrollment by 20% annually and provide as many high school graduates as possible with postsecondary credentials in next four years.
We will need to fundamentally alter our recruitment to reach new people which also speaks to our role in fostering inclusivity and diversity.
This will take marketing dollars invested in targeted campaigns to reach the audiences who can benefit from our mission, particularly those in underserved and underrepresented communities.
We must intensify our outreach efforts and make the application process more streamlined and more accessible, particularly among Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and low-income individuals.
We must also increase enrollment among program-placed students applying for financial aid, working age adults, military affiliated students, as well as increase participation among incarcerated students in FastForward and expand credit for prior learning.
Reaching these folks is a substantial effort – retaining them, and the students we have through completion to career will require us to shift our service delivery model and rethink how we use our facilities. This directly speaks to the need for options and flexibility desired by the new majority.
The shift to a second curve model that embraces education anytime, anyhow, and anywhere will see our system embracing:
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- On-demand, anytime learning.
- Reducing time to credential or degree and expanding FastForward to keep pace with industry demand to bring more credentialed talent into the workforce, quickly.
- Scaling the accessibility of online learning through shared services, ultimately increasing online enrollment by 8,000 annually by 2030.
Again, I reinforce our overarching objective – we are aiming to change lives and grow industry through a strategic investment in proven models that will lead to job placement.
We have to change how we think about our mission and no longer be content just to see students complete their programs, we need to see them utilize the skills they obtain through us in family sustaining jobs that generate prosperity to individuals, households, and communities across the Commonwealth.
We have to start early, and we have to start young.
Governor Youngkin’s initiative to see every high school student in Virginia graduate with a degree or credential is a critical part of our strategy to get more people into good paying jobs, either through transfer to a 4-year institution, associate degree, or credential.
As I mentioned yesterday, we will be working closely with the Department of Education to create and ensure comprehensive access to postsecondary programming in every school district in Virginia through the addition of high school career coaches for every school.
This will be a huge undertaking, but also one with payoffs that will last for generations.
Communicating the changes and opportunities closely at the K12 level, but also directly with students and their parents will be essential to our success.
Finally, we must scale up the programs that work and shift our focus to helping students pursue pathways that lead to program completion, but that also lead them to pursue high-demand career fields.
Programs like FastForward and G3 that are specifically engineered to train up people with the skills needed to support Virginia’s most vital industries must continue and grow.
These outcomes-based models are revolutionary in Virginia and in the nation and it is paramount that we continue to fund them, and that we secure additional funding to drive results.
This is part of the paradigm shift we must all make to focus on getting students not just to completion, but across the goal line of employment. To do so, we must expand pay-for-performance, with new resources, to drive success in reaching the most important goal for our students.
As I noted before, we must undeniably demonstrate that robust investments in postsecondary education produces strong value. Paying-for-performance is our most compelling way to show that value and we have a track record of doing it well.
Every item I have shared today is a substantial undertaking and together, achieving this vision successfully will require a significant financial investment – these priorities serve as the basis for our 2024 legislative agenda.
We will be working intently with state leaders and policy makers to make this vision come to life and it will require collaboration on all levels – with the Department of Education, our partners in the workforce development system, SCHEV, the administration, and our General Assembly – and with all of you.
As we conclude our time together, I cannot stress enough the urgency of our collective actions as college leaders to build the support we need to advance the strategic priorities we have outlined today.
The state’s recognition of the value of community colleges, demonstrated by recent modest increases in state investment, is commendable and clearly demonstrates confidence in the efficacy of our efforts as a system.
However, it is time to take these achievements and scale them up – but the funding only comes with results.
While we will continue focus on all the strengths and successes of the past, now it is time to dial in our efforts towards aligning job attainment to business, focusing on the highest needs, at a regional level.
This is how we succeed. And it will only happen when we work together, and when we remember the big picture.
Isolated efforts will not yield the transformative outcomes we desire.
Each priority item we have discussed is essential, but they all work together in the pursuit of progress – when one piece is missing, underfunded, or under supported, our entire vision becomes fragile. There can be no weak links.
This journey demands collaboration, unity, and a shared purpose that transcends individual institutions.
We have an unprecedented opportunity to come together in new ways, as a cohesive system, aligning our goals and harnessing the combined strength of our educational community.
And we are accountable to each other.
The next six months will be critical in socializing our objectives in Richmond. But this battle will not be won in Richmond alone.
We must begin to take action today, across the Commonwealth, to champion our vision and rally support for the pivotal investments that students in Virginia deserve.
Everyone in this room is part of this effort. I am asking you today to help ensure we are successful by aligning your focus and dedication to these goals.
This will require all of us, on every level and in every corner of Virginia, to be nimble and resilient in order to keep our priorities front and center. So, what can you do?
Mobilize your people and engage stakeholders across your respective communities. Forge meaningful connections with chambers of commerce and business advocates, forging strong partnerships that nurture economic growth. Take the lead in reaching out to high school superintendents, cultivating a seamless pathway for future graduates to achieve the milestones we have set.
I also ask us all to embrace these goals, and these challenges, as a positive – we are shifting how we operate as a system. Connect with fellow presidents to enhance regional alignment and dissolve barriers created by siloed actions and decisions.
Be proactive in understanding what your peers are doing, supporting each other’s endeavors, and fostering an atmosphere of unity and regional collaboration.
The task before us is immense, but so too is the potential for transformation.
We leave today on the first day of creating a new legacy for Virginia’s Community Colleges. Our efforts, when successful, will uplift generations to come.
Our commitment to education and the economic prosperity of Virginia demands nothing less than our unyielding dedication.
Today I am filled with unwavering hope and optimism. Our strategic priorities are not just a blueprint; they are the embodiment of a brighter future for our students, our communities, and our Commonwealth.
Together, Virginia’s Community Colleges will be the catalysts of change and the architects of progress.
I have complete faith in our ability to achieve these ideals. Our actions today will shape the trajectory of countless lives, leaving an indelible mark on Virginia.
I invite each one of you to join me and your peers ready to embrace an exciting, transformative future that will disrupt the status quo of higher education in Virginia in all the best ways.
The vision we share today and our joint commitment to nurturing the new majority, and new generations of learners will be a driving force behind the advancement of Virginia and model for our peers across the country.
Thank you for your leadership, your spirit, and your tireless commitment to our mission. This is our time – it’s time for Virginia’s Community Colleges to stand tall, proud, and shine as the example of progress and innovation.
Let us start today.
