During the first few days of the General Assembly, four pieces of legislation have been introduced to enact a community college scholarship match program.  HB 471 (Dance) and HB 1005 (Athey) establish a community college scholarship match where the state  will match every dollar raised privately for community college scholarships by the 23 foundations of Virginia’s community colleges and the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education, up to a maximum of $5 million annually.   HB 961 (Crockett-Stark and Carrico) and SB 166 (Edwards) tailor the scholarship match to community college students in the high-demand fields of science, teaching, technology, engineering, math, and nursing.

All of these bills will spur private investment in Virginia’s economic recovery, and attract private investment in the education and training of Virginia’s workforce.  Approval of these bills by legislators will send an important message about the priority that is placed on increasing the number of Virginia college graduates along with a commitment to maximize the effectiveness of the private resources. 

The Community College Scholarship Match program will provide a needed and overdue public/private partnership to confront the challenge of increasing the number of Virginia’s college graduates.  By  matching dollars raised privately with state funds, more graduates will be produced to ensure the future success of the Commonwealth.  

Posted by Ellen Davenport