Virginia’s Community Colleges are off to a
promising start in their quest to triple the number of credentials students
earn annually by the year 2021. As the VCCS celebrates its 50th
anniversary, the 2016 class was the most successful in history, reaching record
numbers for both individual graduates and credentials earned. This past
spring’s graduations also represented the end of the first year of the VCCS’s
six-year statewide strategic plan, Complete 2021, which established the
goal of tripling credentials.
All told, Virginia’s Community Colleges saw a
7.6% increase in degrees, certificates and diplomas earned, from 31,194 to
33,580 – and a 5.2% increase in the number of individual graduates, from 25,562
to 26,899. There were significant increases in certain groups driving those
record numbers including:
·
A 14% increase in the number of Hispanic/Latino
graduates;
·
An 11.4% increase in the number of so-called
traditional-age graduates, those between the ages of 18 and 24; and
·
A 9% increase in the number of graduates who are
the first in their family to attend and graduate college – in fact, first
generation students earned one out of every five awards earned by the 2016
class.
There was also a smaller, though notable,
increase of 6.5% in the number of men graduating. Traditionally, men pursue and
complete postsecondary credentials at rates well below that of women. Today,
men make up just more than 41% of the total VCCS enrollment.
The graduation numbers above do not include
the more than 13,000 industry-certified credentials earned by VCCS students in
short-term workforce training programs last year. Those programs operate
outside of a traditional academic calendar and are counted separately.
“With a focus on student success, we are
helping more individuals overcome the barriers that can prevent them from
earning a postsecondary credential, the passport that is essential today to
pursuing the American Dream,” said Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia’s
Community Colleges. “Much work remains, however, if we are going to reach that
tripling goal of Complete 2021 and truly prepare individuals for the new
Virginia economy.”
No one, perhaps, better personifies
that pursuit of the American Dream better than Josephine Iwatsubo. Iwatsubo was
born in the Philippines and raised in Richmond, Virginia, graduating from Deep
Run High School in 2012. Iwatsubo attend Reynolds Community College because of
the academic flexibility and financial benefits the school provides. Iwatsubo,
who has been able to achieve one of her childhood dreams by becoming an author
with the publication of her first book “The Missing Cookie” graduated
from Reynolds with a Liberal Arts degree in May 2014.
She believes that her time at
Reynolds was a contributing factor in helping her to achieve her dream of
attending the University of Virginia. Iwatsubo says the Reynolds
Guaranteed Transfer program was instrumental in the attainment of her academic
career goals and she credits the program with helping her financially and
preparing her for the transition to UVa.
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| Josephine Iwatsubo |
“I was able to attend my dream
school, the University of Virginia, so I am extremely thankful for the programs
that Reynolds offered,” said Iwatsubo. “Attending Reynolds definitely is the
best decision I have ever made when I decided to pursue college. I really
had the chance to explore my interests, see all the possibilities, make
lifelong friends and see what I can achieve.”
