JSRCC's Cheri Morell

Our adventure began with an early morning meet up at the JSRCC Downtown Campus.  The JSR Lead (student leadership development team) representatives for this particular visit were: Zac Carroll, Ryan Harris, Kelly McIntosh, Angela Miller, Cheri Morrell, and Shane Roberts. 

JSRCC President Gary Rhodes, Malcolm Holmes, Steve Vehorn, and Bess Littlefield were kind enough to brief us on the protocol and events of the day while we waited for our transportation. Next up was a quick ride over to the Library of Virginia for some history of the LVA, the Capital Building, an explanation of state government and the General Assembly itself – then we were off for our perilous journey across the street to the General Assembly Building. 

While there we were fortunate to meet privately with Delegates Delores L. McQuinn, John A. Cox, John O’Bannon lll, Peter Farrell and Senators Thomas Garrett, Jr. and Henry L. Marsh. 

Shane Roberts in the automotive field of studies was a big hit with Senator Garrett and Delegate Farrell as both requested tours of the JSRCC campuses with Dr. Rhodes!

The icing on our cake was the opportunity to sit in the gallery during an actual General Assembly session where we were not only announced and asked to stand, but applauded by the House of Delegates! It really doesn’t get much better than that, folks. We then finished off our day with a lovely stroll back across the garden area and enjoyed a leisurely lunch; it was a fun-filled, educational day…J. Sargeant Reynolds style!

Cheri Morell
JSRCC LEAD

TCC's Coby Dillard

For Coby Dillard, a student at Tidewater Community College and student government president at the Norfolk Campus, wandering the halls of the General Assembly Building is comfortable. He stops Delegates and Senators walking to committee meetings to introduce himself. Since beginning his community college journey, he had the opportunity to work on political campaigns in Hampton Roads and briefly running for Congress himself. This is a dramatic change from the days he spent in the navy at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba at the peak of the Global War on Terror in 2005.

Last Wednesday, at “Everyday is Community College Day”, Coby and his classmates shared their stories with legislators. This represented the first trip to Richmond for many Tidewater students. They were able to visit their district’s representatives, advocate for community colleges and see, first-hand, how the state legislative process works. However, the importance and prevalence of the military in community college education was apparent for any legislator who met with Tidewater Community College. This is indicative of the prevalence of military students in community colleges across the country. The Department of Defense recently stated that nearly half of soldiers receiving federal military benefits for college are enrolled in community colleges.

Tidewater students met with members of the Hampton Roads General Assembly updating them on plans for a new student center, child care services that are now being offered to parents taking classes at the Norfolk campus, and the increasing military student presence. Students also urged legislators to support Governor McDonnell’s Higher Education Budget items that include more student aid. Kevin Yocum, an Army Reservist that gave his G.I. Bill benefits to his wife, told Senator Yvonne Miller “ I would not be here in community college  without financial aid.”

Senator Miller offered her support to sustaining aid for community college students, particularly military members. The Senator then gave Tidewater students some homework. She gave the students a copy of the Governor’s Budget and asked them to go back to their campus’ financial aid office and ask their officers how it will affect student aid and report back to her. The students promised to visit their financial aid office and continue to be in contact with Senator Miller’s office.

When one of Coby’s classmates asked him what Guantanamo Bay was like, he responded simply with “It was bad.” For him, community college was a bridge from service to his country in the armed forces to serving his community in a quickly developing political career. “I’d rather be here at Tidewater than over there,” said Coby. “Every day is Community College Day” continues throughout the General Assembly Session.

Posted by Stephen Parker

Stephen Parker  is a SVCC graduate who transferred to Longwood University and received his bachelor’s degree. He is currently a graduate student at W & M and on the foundation board for SVCC. 

Mr. Chairman; members of the committee; ladies and gentlemen: good afternoon.

I frequently remind people that our community colleges have had no better partner in its 46-year history than the General Assembly.

We are grateful for that as well as today’s opportunity to discuss how we can leverage that partnership and the introduced budget to meet a goal that we all share: helping more Virginians earn a college credential.

You know, when Governor McDonnell signed the T-J-21 bill into law last year, he said it was creating 6,000 new slots for Virginia college students. And he said 4,000 of those were at Virginia’s Community Colleges.

While that is a small anecdote, it is a telling one – emblematic of the role our community colleges must play if Virginia is to succeed.

You can also see that what our community colleges accomplish:

• In the four years leading up to last May, your community colleges were responsible for nearly one out of every three college degrees awarded by a Virginia public institution;

• Last year, Virginia’s Community College graduates accounted more than one-third of all the science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees earned at Virginia’s public higher ed institutions; and

• Your community colleges leveraged the $3 million investment you made last year in Workforce Development instruction into job training for 75,000 Virginians and service for 8,000 Virginia employers.

We maintain a public pledge to keep our tuition and fees at less than half of the same charges at Virginia’s public universities. We’re currently just over one-third. Given that, and the results I just mentioned, it’s easy to see how we are helping a lot of people get ahead while saving them – and taxpayers – a lot of money along the way.

Similarly, Senator Hanger has introduced legislation that would make it easier for middle-income families to benefit from the state’s Two Year College Transfer Grant program. We support that legislation and believe it could help hundreds of families every year.

INTRODUCED BUDGET
In general, we are supportive of the introduced budget and grateful for the priority it places on higher education in general and community colleges in particular.

To date, the introduced budget has earned formal resolutions of support from the State Board for Community Colleges as well as the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education – two esteemed panels that include some of Virginia’s most respected community-focused business and industry leaders.

The introduced budget continues moving our partnership in the right direction following some dire years of public funding.

In the four-year period that began in 2008, Virginia’s Community Colleges lost $95 million dollars in General Fund support. At the same time, we enrolled 50,000 additional students.

To offer a broader perspective, Mr. Chairman, since the fall of 2007, Virginia’s Community Colleges have accounted for 69% of the undergraduate enrollment growth at Virginia’s public colleges and universities.

We are proud of that record.

Our colleges were created in a spirit of innovation to address Virginia’s unmet higher educational and workforce needs.

When the chips are down, families use our community colleges as their personal economic recovery plan.

Even in the most challenging times, we are there for them.

Virginia’s Community Colleges are in the second year of an innovative reengineering initiative that is exploring everything we do and asking how can we do it better?

That honest, open process is earning attention across the Commonwealth and across the country. And it is one more reminder of that innovative spirit that gave rise to our colleges.

MOVING FORWARD
In that spirit, Mr. Chairman, I would like to offer just a few thoughts about priorities that support the goal of an additional 100,000 college graduates but are not in the introduced budget:

Capital Outlay remains a challenge for our institutions and the four-year universities, especially as they ramp-up our offerings in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and healthcare.

Across Virginia, we are serving students at our community colleges in buildings that are 40 to 45 years old but were built with a life expectancy of only 25 to 30 years.

Nor were those campuses built with 21st century community college students in mind.

Increasingly, our student enrollments are younger and much more likely to attend full-time – remaining on campus from eight or nine in the morning until five in the evening. They are expecting things we just can’t offer right now, like someplace to study between classes other than the inside of their car.

Virginia’s Community College struggle with finding the right balance of full-time and part-time faculty members.

Over the past decade or so, while balancing funding challenges with the need to remain affordable, we have backed-into a place where the majority of our instructors are part-time employees.

I don’t question the quality of instruction those people bring to the table.  We need more full-time faculty members, however. Our work to improve student retention and student success depends on people who spend their entire day on-campus. We cannot count on that from our adjunct instructors who owe most of their time and attention to their other, primary job.

I must also mention our faculty and staff salaries, which, as you know, have remained stagnant for more than four years now.

As I previously mentioned, we have added more than 50,000 students over the last four years while losing $95 million in General Fund support. The resources simply have not existed to ramp-up our faculty and staff in the same dramatic fashion that our enrollment has.

Forgive the cliché, but in very tangible ways, our people have been doing a lot more with less.

I would hope that the time is drawing near that we can honor that work with even just a modest cost of living salary adjustment.

And finally, Mr. Chairman, I believe a state investment in the VCCS Career Coach program would payoff in our shared pursuit of more college graduates.

Career Coaches are community college employees, who work in high schools with students, helping them carve out customized career and college plans – a task that even guidance counselors will tell you that they lack the time to do. With your help, we could continue expanding this proven and effective strategy to every high school, influencing more and more young people whose vocabulary doesn’t even include the word, “College.”

CLOSING
You know, the first year we opened for business, we served 7,500 students at two colleges.

This year, when you add together our academic and workforce development efforts, we will be serving more than 400,000 Virginians.

We could not have that kind of impact on Virginia without the partnership that we share with you. Thank you. We are grateful for that.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

SB 85 (Favola and Hanger) which would increase the expected family contribution allowed for eligibility for the Two-Year Transfer Grant from $8,000 to $12,000 was reported unanimously. This change would mean that approximately 800 more students would be eligible for the transfer grant than are currently receiving the grant.  Over 1100 students have received the transfer grant since legislation enacting the program was first established in 2007, and over $1.4 million has been awarded.

SB 100 (Edwards) which would establish a scholarship match program for two-year institutions and the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education was also reported unanimously. SB 100 would provide an incentive to donors to each of Virginia’s 23 community college foundations and to the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education by establishing a state dollar-for-dollar match for every dollar raised privately.  Funds would be earmarked for scholarships for students enrolled in an associate degree program and studying science, technology, engineering, math, education, or nursing.

Posted by Ellen Davenport

Shawn Fenner

Shawn Fenner
John Tyler Community College

Much like my experiences at John Tyler Community College, my visit to the General Assembly of Virginia as part of the college’s student delegation was equal parts surreal, extremely positive and downright unforgettable.

While I’m not exactly shy (I’ve been told I could hold a conversation with a brick wall), this was a bit of a different animal. After all, my peers and I would be holding conversations with those persons responsible for not only making many of the laws applicable in our state, but with those in charge of making sure that each and every one of us at a Virginia Community College – students, administrators and our world-class professors — has the resources and buildings we need to make the adjustment to the rest of our professional lives.

The goal of the day was actually quite simple: tell our stories to our Delegates and Senators to give them an accurate picture of just who exactly attends Virginia’s Community Colleges in general and John Tyler Community College in particular. In the end, I was extremely impressed with the working knowledge our lawmakers had about the VCCS. Some even said they had a son or daughter who attended one of the colleges.

We each took turns sharing our stories, and much like the six Delegates we interacted with, I found myself extremely interested listening to my peers share their own personal reflections.

********

Here’s my story:  After 10-plus years on the staff of a large newspaper and media organization in Richmond, I knew I was ready for a new challenge. With a blank slate in front of me, I chose to pursue a profession as a Registered Nurse. Quite a contrast to the previous decade of my life, but being a nurse would allow me to practice one of my life’s passions – helping people – every single day.

The question then became where to attend nursing school. The greater Richmond area is quite rich in its colleges and universities, so I had a tough choice to make. However, after asking several respected nurses where they attended their nursing school, one name kept popping up: John Tyler Community College. I was told about the quality and caring attitude of the instructors. Others spoke of the value of a hands-on education in a clinical setting with working professionals who care about your education.

Fast forward a couple of years to the present, and I’m about four months away from graduating. Going in, about the only thing I expected was to get a quality education and an affordable price. I experienced that…..and a whole lot more.

The diversity in all of my classes has been one of my favorite things about John Tyler. From those fresh out of high school to people like me returning to school, the mix of students truly helped me learn, as everyone had different stories and experiences to share.

********

When we were in one Delegate’s office, I took a moment to look around at my fellow students. And that’s when it hit me. Our group that made the 30-minute commute to downtown Richmond was just about a perfect reflection of the students in each of the classes I’ve taken at John Tyler. Some students are fresh out of high school, some are even taking classes while in high school and some (like me) are making a career change after a successful first one.

And that, to me, is the beauty of not just the group that visited the General Assembly, but of John Tyler itself. I’ve learned something from each of the age ranges in my classes, and I am no doubt richer for having experienced that spectrum.

In the end, we all hoped we made a difference by telling our stories and sharing our great experiences at John Tyler. A bonus for the day was being able to simply put a face to the wonderful faculty, administration and students which make up the entire Virginia Community College System.

While I’m working toward graduating this May and securing a position as a Registered Nurse, I can’t help but have a sense of sadness. After graduation, everyone will go their separate ways into the working world. But I also know that we forever be a part of the John Tyler family.

John Tyler students visit Del. Joe Morrisey

For more photos from John Tyler’s visit to the General Assembly, check out the JTCC album on Facebook.

Like Virginia’s Community Colleges new page on Facebook! 

The Senate transfer grant bill (HB 85) co-patroned by Senators Barbara Favola and Emmett Hanger will be heard tomorrow in the Senate Finance Committee.

Delegate Lacey Putney has introduced HB 1239, which would increase the state sales tax by one penny.  Currently, 4 of the 5 cents of the state sales tax are returned to the state and 1 cent is returned to localities.  Putney’s bill would be subject to the approval of the voters in a statewide referendum this fall. Half of the money raised by the new increment in the sales tax would be earmarked for transportation; the remaining half would be divided between K-12, mental health, and higher education.  The bill is described in this article in the Roanoke Times. 

 Posted by Ellen Davenport

Transfer grant bills

All transfer grant bills (HB 437,  SB 85 and SB 400) have passed their Houses of origin and are headed to money committees. HB 437  (Tata) was heard on Monday, January 16 and passed on a 19-1 vote; the VCCS, SCHEV, Virginia 21 and the Council for Independent Colleges spoke in favor of the legislation. HB 437 will be heard in the Higher Ed subcommittee of House Appropriations on Monday, Jan. 23, at 3 p.m.

SB 85 (Favola) and SB 400 (Hanger) were rolled together in Senate Education and Health and passed unanimously. SCHEV, the VCCS and the Virginia Manufacturers Association spoke in support. The legislation has been re-referred to the Senate Finance Committee.

Community Colleges Offering Baccalaureate Degrees

Delegate Danny Marshall’s bill for community colleges to offer baccalaureate degrees in areas geographically isolated from public four-year colleges and universities (HJ 95), will be heard on Jan. 24 in House Rules. 

Military Students in College

HB 195  (Lewis) – The original bill called for every institution of higher education to develop policies that award academic credit to students for educational experience gained from military service. The bill was amended in the House Education Subcommittee to have these policies developed by the new Military Advisory Committee that SCHEV is forming.  The amended bill will be taken up Jan. 23.

HB 548 (Comstock) – The original bill called for every institution of higher education to give military personnel certain advantages over regular students (such as preferential treatment in course registrations). This bill was also amended in the House Education Subcommittee to have these policies developed by the new Military Advisory Committee of SCHEV. The amended bill will be taken up Jan. 23.

Dual Enrollment

HB 1184 (Rust) is the Governor’s dual enrollment bill that requires local school boards and community colleges to develop agreements allowing high schools students to complete an associate’s degree or a one-year Uniform Certificate of General Students from a community college concurrent with a high school diploma.  This bill has been referred to the House Education Committee and will likely be referred to the Higher Ed subcommittee (which Rust chairs).

Posted by Ellen Davenport

Brendan Wynn, PVCC

Brendan Wynn
Piedmont Virginia Community College

Sitting at my high school graduation, I was convinced I could never afford to go to college. I was the only person in the top 10% without a university beside my name in the program. My diploma would come with the Governor’s Seal, special commendation for an AP curriculum, and my high school’s music scholarship. 

But, I felt heavy as I walked onto the stage wearing special tassels and sashes for programs like the Governor’s School for the Arts and National Honors Society. I was all dressed up and no place to go. Without my parents, I was certain I could never make it to school alone.

Fortunately, Piedmont Virginia Community College made sure I never felt that I was going through anything alone. I contacted the Financial Aid office looking for a way to afford school. Though her small office was dealing with files for thousands of newly enrolled students, Financial Aid Director Carol Larson listened and helped with my predicament—a young student forced to leave his house at age 16, with no money for college application fees, let alone tuition.

Since then, Piedmont has offered me countless opportunities to give back. Whether working on college committees with tireless faculty, staff and administration or creating a Student Support Committee as the vice president of the college’s Student Government Association, I have found so many ways to support other students working to overcome obstacles to higher education. Thanks to the strong curriculum at Piedmont, I have even been able to join a research lab at the University of Virginia studying the educational development of kids who have difficulties making friends.

On January 19, 2012, I was honored to meet with Virginia legislators in their Richmond offices. House Minority Leader David Toscano and Delegates Steve Landes and Lee Ware graciously invited a group of Piedmont students to their offices before a busy day on the Hill. Like the faculty and staff whose jobs they make possible, these assemblymen were actively engaged in hearing our stories and the chance we were given through Piedmont Virginia Community College.

These legislators make the robust Virginia Community College System possible.  More than that, their dedication to higher education makes my story possible.

Going to the General Assembly to visit Virginia’s Senate and House members was an experience I will never forget.

My school, Blue Ridge Community College, has given me so many opportunities; this is what I wanted to convey to our legislators. However, I was a little nervous about talking with them.

I couldn’t have been more surprised at how personable our legislators are! Not only were they easy to talk to, they were compassionate- they truly listened to what each person had to say. I felt as if I was speaking with people I knew about my experience with the Virginia Community College System; this was both comforting and pleasantly surprising.

Speaking with our legislators reflects something that most people are starting to no longer associate with politicians- the sense that they truly work for their constituents. I saw this in each senate or house member that I spoke with. Upon leaving, I felt confident that our group had advocated well for VCCS and that our visit would remain in the minds of our legislators.

Both our legislator’s compassion and dedication stuck out to me and renewed me with admiration for those who work as legislative authorities in this state. As I watched the House of Delegates in action speaking the words of our Pledge of Allegiance, I could not help but feel elated with patriotic love towards my wonderful country and the state of Virginia. The General Assembly renewed my pride in being a part of this nation, this state, and more specifically, as a student of the Virginia Community College System.

BRCC group visits Del. Stephen Landes

Sen. Mark Obenshain meets Angelica Puzio.

Sen. Creigh Deeds greets students

Talking with Sen. Emmett Hanger

I attend Paul D. Camp Community College, and I plan to get my associate’s degree in education, then transfer to a four year college to get my bachelor’s degree in counseling/education.

Out of my family, I was the first child to go to college.

When I graduated from high school in 1987, I did not have the opportunity to go to college, because I had a child soon after I graduated.

Later, when my daughter got older, I decided to go back to school — I started at Paul D. Camp in 1993 with the hope of getting my early childhood certification. But I had to leave because of financial problems;  my daughter had gotten sick and needed me to care of her at home.

Paul D. Camp Community College is so close to my home that I was able to come back in 2010, and start where I left off from previously. Now, I am an education major. Without help and financial assistance from Paul D. Camp Community College, I do not think I would have been able to go to college.

Traveling to Richmond, I met with Sen. Harry B. Blevins. I also met Del. Chris Jones and Del. Lionell Spruill. These people helped me gain an understanding about the legislative process and helped influence my understanding about what they do – and hopefully we helped them understand our situations as well.

Del. Lionel Spruill visits with PDCCC group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Del. Chris Jones poses with PDCCC students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sen. Harry Blevins greets PDCCC students.