With a new school year under way, rising enrollment numbers and statewide budget cuts have created a “perfect storm” at community colleges across Virginia, said the chancellor of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) during a town hall meeting in Lynchburg on Wednesday.
Chancellor Glenn DuBois spoke to a packed crowd at Central Virginia Community College as part of his statewide tour on education reform.
“Essentially we have become the emergency room of higher education,” said DuBois of community colleges.
At CVCC, enrollment rose by about 7 percent this fall, and has increased by more than 30 percent over the past five years.
Statewide, enrollment at Virginia’s community colleges increased by more than 13 percent from 2007 to 2009, according to VCCS. At the same time, the community college system expects to lose about $105 million, or 27 percent, in state funding by 2012.
To address these challenges, DuBois outlined a 13-point plan for improving Virginia’s community college system. The recommendations range from redesigning courses to expanding distance-learning programs.
A taskforce of higher education leaders created the plan, which is expected to be finalized by the State Board for Community Colleges at its annual meeting in November.
At the end of the meeting, DuBois opened the floor to comments and questions from CVCC staff and administrators.
Topics of concern cited by audience members included expanding financial aid and providing support for under-prepared students.
For more information on the reform initiative, visit http://rethink.vccs.edu.
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