Virginia's Community Colleges

DuBois, Glenn

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges 
Volume 25 
Number 2 A Lasting Legacy Pt. 2 Article 28 
12-14-2022 
Remarks for the Manufacturing Development Commission 
Glenn DuBois 
Virginia Community College System 
Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
DuBois, G. (2022). Remarks for the Manufacturing Development Commission. Inquiry: The Journal of the 
Virginia Community Colleges, 25 (2). Retrieved from https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss2/28 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ VCCS. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
VCCS. For more information, please contact tcassidy@vccs.edu. 
Remarks for the Manufacturing Development Commission 
 
These remarks were delivered in the General Assembly Building in Richmond, VA on January 11, 2016. 
 
 
adies and gentlemen: good afternoon. I appreciate the chance to talk with you about an urgent 
challenge facing Virginia families, Virginia employers and the Commonwealth’s economic 
competitiveness. I’m describing, of course, our shortage of industry-recognized, postsecondary 
certifications and the short-term training programs that lead to them. 
 
It’s a pleasure to have this discussion with so many friends who have worked closely with us on 
these sort of issues over the years like Delegate Byron, Delegate Marshall and Brett Vassey from the 
VMA. Our community colleges appreciate your partnership and your leadership. In fact, we’re 
counting on these relationships as we position our colleges to answer the call on what’s become the 
higher education issue of our time. 
 
 The shortage of these credentials is costing all of us real money right now. The company Burning 
Glass produced a report indicating there were more than 175,000 job vacancies last year in Virginia 
in what’s called “middle skill” occupations. The jobs we’re talking about paid more than $28 an 
hour, or more than $58,000 dollars a year – a figure that is just shy of Virginia’s median household 
income ($63,000). This is the kind of money that can support a family.  
 
Well, those jobs each sat vacant for nearly a month – several days longer than the national average. 
That means Virginia businesses lost more than 36 million hours of productivity. That means Virginia 
families lost more than $1 billion in wages. And Virginia, which depends on income tax 
withholdings more than any other state save one, lost more than $54 million in tax revenue. This 
challenge exceeds what the private sector can do alone. Considering the toll it takes from them, they 
surely would have addressed it by now. 
 
Looking forward only highlights just how dire this challenge is. Over the next decade as many as 
two-thirds of the 1.5 million jobs that must be filled in Virginia’s workforce will require more than a 
high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree. They will demand community college 
associate’s degrees and industry-recognized credentials. If businesses can’t find those credentials to 
hire in Virginia, they’ll go elsewhere. 
 
Today, 19 other states are funding the community college training programs that lead to industry-
recognized certifications. That includes many of our neighbors like Maryland, Kentucky and both 
Carolinas. In fact, North Carolina is investing more than $92 million a year on their non-credit 
programs. For the sake of comparison, Virginia’s has never had a funding formula for the short-
term training programs we’re talking about. These resources just don’t exist today for our colleges. 
Changing that is a critical step in boosting Virginia’s competitiveness.  
 
Town hall tour 
At the direction of the General Assembly, we spent most of 2015 studying this issue. We held 22 
town hall meetings across Virginia that engaged more than 1,500 business leaders. Many of you in 
the room today were present at those meetings. 
L 
1
DuBois: Remarks for the Manufacturing Development Commission
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022
The people who joined us there really emphasized the importance of what’s called the 1-2-7 
phenomenon. It works like this:  
 
• For every “one” job that a business hires that demands a postgraduate degree. Think 
senior engineer, medical doctor, or lead software designer;  
• The business has to hire “two” people with baccalaureate degrees. Think human 
resources, accounting, or public relations;  
• And their work must be supported by “seven” frontline technicians with associate 
degrees or postsecondary certifications to make it all work. Think machinists, welders, 
electricians, project managers, lab technicians. 
 
Businesses can find and hire the “ones” and the “twos,” no problem. In fact, they will recruit them 
from across the world if necessary. The “sevens,” however, must already be here. That’s essential to 
attracting new businesses to Virginia and convincing existing businesses to stay and even expand. In 
fact, economic developers say that the proven existence of the “sevens,” or a pipeline to them, is 
more important to deal-making than any other physical infrastructure or tax policy. 
 
The community college plan  
Accordingly, we have created a workforce credentials plan to move Virginia forward and boost its 
competitiveness. Our plan is modest, bipartisan, innovative and results-focused. It was included in 
last month’s budget announcement. The plan calls for an investment of nearly $25 million, over the 
next two years, in our community colleges to deliver some 10,500 credentials to meet businesses 
demand across Virginia. In doing so, we will create the processes and infrastructure needed to do 
even more, building the long-term solution to what is clearly a long-term challenge. 
 
Our proposal focuses on three priorities: building our capacity; incentivizing credential completion; 
and making these training programs more affordable. I’d like to take a moment and talk about each 
of those parts. Building our capacity is the priority for most of the proposal’s first-year funding. That 
money will position our colleges to meet the credential needs of their communities. Instructors will 
be hired. Facilities will be optimized. Equipment and supplies will be purchased. 
 
As I previously mentioned, these critical resources just don’t exist today for community colleges. In 
fact, Virginia’s Community Colleges have never been funded to offer the short-term training 
programs we’re talking about. The patch-work network of offerings we have today are a tribute to 
the hustle and creativity of our presidents and workforce leaders. It’s just not enough, however, to 
play in the big leagues.  
 
Economic developers know, and business leaders know, that the long-term and sustained 
investments that our neighboring states are making in this regard puts them too far ahead to ignore. 
The cost of doing nothing here might just be missing out on the next big economic development 
deal, and the hundreds of jobs behind it, that North Carolina gets to gladly announce.  
 
Capacity building also means deliberately engaging the individuals who have the most to gain from 
these credentials. It’s true: people don’t know what it is that they don’t know. It’s likely, for example, 
that parents today never heard the phrase, “Mechatronics.” I know I never discussed it with any of 
my three children while they considered their options.  
 
2
Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, Vol. 25, No. 2 [2022], Art. 28
https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss2/28
Media reports about cyber-attacks are common. Those attacks can feel like a violation if your credit 
card numbers, or emails, get snagged in one. But how many people know that obtaining the skills 
needed to fight those criminals can open the door to a career offering a six-figure income? 
Ignorance, outdated stereotypes, the old “bachelor’s-or-bust” mentality are the enemies we face to 
prepare individuals for promising 21st century careers, and supply our  businesses with credentialed 
talent necessary to compete. The truth is we have no talent to waste if we are to realize Virginia’s 
true potential. 
 
Thanks to a grant from the National Governor’s Association, we are working across several agencies 
to do the research necessary to break through that interest gap. There’s no quick fix for this. From 
what we can tell, no one is doing this well today.  
 
The plan’s second priority is to reward performance and incentivize credential completion. 
Beginning in the proposal’s second year, individual community colleges earn funding based on 
performance criteria and credential completion. In 
other words, colleges get paid for the credentials 
they add to the Virginia economy, not simply the 
number of students who sit through a class. The 
urgency of this issue justifies this innovative pay-
for-performance approach. 
 
Our colleges are up to this challenge. As I 
mentioned, limited resources prevent us from 
offering all the short-term training programs that 
our communities need. But our existing menu of 
programs is both high-quality and highly 
productive. Of those we serve in these short-term programs, 95-percent successfully complete them. 
From the second year of this proposal forward, we are asking Virginia to invest in our results – 
producing a win-win-win scenario that benefits individuals, businesses and taxpayers. 
 
The third priority of this proposal is to make these opportunities more affordable for everyday 
Virginians. We know today that 70-percent of Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck and lack an 
additional $500 to afford an emergency. We also know that 1.1 million Virginians have earned some 
college credit though they lack a college credential. Too many of those folks are trying to start a life 
while working a minimum wage job and making payments on college loans. 
 
These short-term training programs, and the credentials to which they lead, are brimming with 
potential to position these people to earn their way into Virginia’s middle class and beyond. Our 
colleges do a tremendous job of that already when you consider an apples-to-apples comparison 
between some of our current offerings and those from private sector providers. For example: 
 
• Becoming a Certified Medical Assistant is a popular entry point for those seeking a 
career in healthcare. Our students pay just under $3,000 for that training. Pursuing 
that same credential at some private providers we reviewed will cost you between 
$21,000 and $34,000; 
• Aspiring truck drivers will spend $3,200 for community college training, at least 
$1,000 less than private training providers; 
3
DuBois: Remarks for the Manufacturing Development Commission
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022
• Project management professionals will pay more than double the $800 we charge to 
get the same training at a private provider; and 
• And our entry-level IT certification training runs about $1,200. That is at least $400 
less expensive than the lowest cost private provider – and it’s less than half of what 
some others charge. 
 
The community college mission, and culture, has long been focused on affordable postsecondary 
access. But that status quo for these credentials isn’t always enough. Price is a barrier for too many 
of the people we need to engage. Our programs cost, on average, $3,100 to complete. There’s 
practically no financial aid for these students. They have to write a check on the first day in order to 
begin. Our proposal changes that. 
 
Following the capacity building of the first year, we believe that our community colleges can reduce 
by at least one-third – and in some circumstances, up to one-half – the cost to attend these training 
programs.  
 
Let me use just three examples to demonstrate how this can work. If our plan is adopted and funded 
at its proposed level, in just a few years we would expect to see: 
 
• The cost of pursuing training for a cyber-security certification could drop from today’s 
price of $2,500 to $1,600 or less; 
• The price of training for an AWS welding certification could shrink from today’s price of 
$1,100 to $700 or less; and 
• Training to become a licensed pharmacy technician, which costs $1,600 today could be 
reduced to $1,100 or less. 
 
Some details of our proposal are still under discussion. For example, there is broad consensus that 
determining what credentials are considered to be in high-demand, at a given time, cannot occur 
without the perspective of local and regional industry leaders. I agree with that. Conversations 
continue, however, on the process necessary to go about collecting, verifying and acting upon such 
information. 
 
Community colleges: a workforce training legacy 
The General Assembly’s charge, last year, to create a solution to this credentials challenge wasn’t a 
surprise. In fact, it represents the third time in our 50 year history that Virginia has looked to its 
community colleges to lead the way on elevating its workforce. The first time occurred in 1966, 
when we were created. Changing technology and a lack of trained technicians drove business leaders 
at the time to advocate for the creation of a community college system. No other entity was up to 
the task. 
 
Thirty years later, Virginia called on our colleges again. This time the charge was to lead the way on 
the commonwealth’s postsecondary workforce training. The limitless drive of technology, and its 
integration into every workplace, demanded leadership and coordination. We are proud of that 
legacy and its successes, and we stand ready to lead the way, once again, in meeting the 
commonwealth’s needs. 
 
4
Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, Vol. 25, No. 2 [2022], Art. 28
https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss2/28
Our community college system is the only entity in Virginia capable of producing a credentials 
training program that ensures quality, affordability and access to all parts of the Commonwealth. 
Over the past 50 years, we have laid the foundation of structures and policies that give us the unique 
ability to deliver programs on a large scale but with the flexibility and responsiveness to meet the 
different needs of different communities. This is why the 19 other states that already fund these 
programs do so through their community colleges. 
The $25 million dollars we are seeking is a modest investment, compared to what’s occurring in 
many of those other states. But we’ll make it count. Our colleges will leverage that state investment, 
deliver tangible results, and make Virginia more competitive at every level.  
 
What’s next? 
In closing, we’re grateful, once again, for your interests and time to discuss our plan. It’s modest, 
bipartisan, innovative and results-focused. And it will boost Virginia’s competitiveness. We’re happy 
to take any questions you may have.   
5
DuBois: Remarks for the Manufacturing Development Commission
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022


English

Remarks for the Manufacturing Development Commission

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges 
Volume 25 
Number 2 A Lasting Legacy Pt. 2 Article 33 
12-14-2022 
Remarks for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education 
(2017) 
Glenn DuBois 
Virginia Community College System 
Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
DuBois, G. (2022). Remarks for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education (2017). Inquiry: The 
Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, 25 (2). Retrieved from https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/
vol25/iss2/33 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ VCCS. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
VCCS. For more information, please contact tcassidy@vccs.edu. 
Remarks for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education (2017) 
 
These remarks were delivered at the General Assembly Building in Richmond, VA on January 24, 2017. 
 
 
r. Chairman; members of the committee; good afternoon. I want to begin my remarks with a 
thank you. I don’t know how often in this business we get to say that we changed the world, 
but when it comes to Virginia’s New Economy Workforce Industry Credential Grants program, we 
are. 
 
None of that, of course, would be possible without your leadership and support. Thanks to you, 
Virginia began a unique workforce training initiative predicated on businesses deciding what skills 
are in high demand; reliant on 
community colleges meeting 
those needs; and certain that 
taxpayer dollars are spent only on 
results. 
 
We have been at this only six 
months now. Already, we see 
ambitious students pursuing the 
credentials they previously 
couldn’t afford; colleges offering 
high demand training programs 
they previously couldn’t fill; and 
businesses hiring the credentialed, 
skilled talent they previously 
couldn’t find. While we are not 
the first state to fund this type of 
workforce training, our approach 
is new. Leaders in other states are calling to ask what exactly is going on here, and how can they do 
it there. 
Virginia’s grant program makes us a leader in workforce training. 
 
Virginians are responding 
Members of the committee, our early success is a powerful reminder of just how hungry our fellow 
Virginians are for an affordable, accessible opportunity to bolster their American Dream. The 
credentials at the heart of this program are postsecondary, industry-recognized certifications and 
licensures. People achieve them through short-term community college training programs in fields 
ranging from healthcare and information technology to manufacturing, skilled trades and logistics. 
The grants program is focused on specific skills that Virginia businesses say are in high demand and 
can lead to good jobs in growing career fields. 
 
In just our first six months: 
 
• Nearly 2,900 Virginians have enrolled in these programs; 
M 
1
DuBois: Remarks for the Education Subcommittee (2017)
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022
• More than half of them, nearly 1,500 individuals, have completed their training; and 
• So far, more than 640 have obtained their high demand credential. 
 
You can see more detail on the one-page sheet we’ve shared with the committee. Last year, 
Virginia’s Community Colleges experienced an historic year in terms of the number of people who 
graduated from our traditional academic degree programs. I can tell you however, without question, 
that our short-term training programs are our fastest-growing.  
 
And, of course, our college presidents and workforce leaders are prioritizing that that meet what 
business and industry leaders say are the highest demand. 
 
The benefits of this grants program are truly statewide. The law you passed was clear: these grants 
should be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis and that no single region should dominate the 
program.  
 
On the back of the one-page sheet we shared with you, you can see a map that breaks-out our grant 
program enrollment numbers by community college service region. Northern Virginia is leading the 
way, following closely by Blue Ridge Community College in the Shenandoah Valley; the Richmond 
region with the Community College Workforce Alliance, a partnership between John Tyler and 
Reynolds community colleges; and Southside Virginia is off to an impressive start. 
 
While there is strong regional diversity in who is using the grants, there is also diversity in what high 
demand career fields those students pursue.  
 
• Nearly a third of the students to enroll in the program (28%) are pursing credentials in the 
healthcare field;  
• A similar percentage (30%) are working toward logistics-related credentials;  
• A quarter are enrolled in manufacturing and welding (15%) and other skilled trades (9%);  
• Information technology credentials, including cybersecurity, attracted 11% of grant students; 
• And the remaining 8% are pursuing credentials in business and education. 
 
Employment and wage data 
While we are celebrating this early success, we never lose sight of the fact that these numbers are a 
means, not an end. The program’s success will be judged ultimately in the jobs obtained and wages 
earned by those who enroll and complete these community college training programs. 
 
This information, as you probably know, is gathered and collected only after the fact. We’re only 
half-a-year in. More time is needed for this information to take shape. No one is more eager to see 
that data, and learn from it, than we are. The anecdotes that we hear are encouraging. 
 
• A single mom in Roanoke lost her fulltime job eight years ago. Since then, she’s been trying 
to raise her now 9-year-old daughter on a combination of part-time gigs. During an eventful 
week in December, she obtained her Certified Medical Administrative Assistant training, 
passed her exam and was hired to a fulltime job with benefits. 
2
Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, Vol. 25, No. 2 [2022], Art. 33
https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss2/33
• A stay-at-home mom in Northern Virginia, who said she had, quote, “No money to spend,” 
end quote, was inspired to pursue a Certified Billing and Coding course. Since completing it, 
she was hired fulltime as an Insurance Verification Analyst at INOVA Health Systems, 
where she is enjoying the highest salary that she has ever earned. 
• A man in Fredericksburg, who was frustrated at never being able to land a fulltime job, 
completed his truck driver training program in November, earned his CDL in December 
and is now working fulltime for American Trucking, earning close to $20 an hour. 
 
If I may, I would like to share one last anecdote from Southside Virginia Community College. 
Before last year, any Virginian who wanted to become a power line worker had to leave the state to 
get the training. Most went as far away as Georgia. Some were able to go to a program in North 
Carolina. Those students would pay an estimated $14,000 just for the program alone. Last year, 
Southside Virginia Community College began a power line worker training program. In less than one 
year, it went from being a good idea to being a reality. 
 
Two things really made that possible: One, Virginia’s electric cooperatives donated equipment and 
resources that allowed us to create the program. And two, the workforce credential grants made that 
program affordable for students. In its first year, 30 students enrolled in the program. After 12 
weeks of training, 30 students completed the program. Of those 30 students, 29 now have full-time 
jobs in the industry – an industry with a statewide average salary between $60,000 and $70,000. 
 
For what it’s worth, we called down to inquire about that 30th student. His instructor tells us that 
he’s holding out for an offer from Dominion. He’s had other job offers, mind you. But his heart is 
set on working for Dominion. 
 
The governor’s $1 million proposal 
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I would like to bring my prepared remarks to a close by 
asking you to support the additional $1 million the budget introduced last month proposes to place 
in this year’s grants fund. 
 
The response we are getting from Virginians, to date, is quickly overwhelming the original allocation 
for the first-year of this pay-for-performance program. And no one has asked us to stop. Not the 
businesses, who tell us that they are pleased to see training programs responding to their priorities. 
Not the colleges, who tell us they are thrilled to have the necessary resources to respond to those 
needs. Not the chambers of commerce or economic developers, who are excited to brag about the 
workforce those programs will create. And not the individuals, who are grateful for an affordable 
chance to earn a good-paying job in a high-demand field. 
 
With that, I will introduce Dr. Craig Herndon, our Vice Chancellor for Workforce Development. 
He’s been our quarterback when it comes to effort and, together, we would be delighted to answer 
any questions you may have. 
  
3
DuBois: Remarks for the Education Subcommittee (2017)
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022


Remarks for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education (2017)

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges 
Volume 25 
Number 2 A Lasting Legacy Pt. 2 Article 1 
12-14-2022 
Front Cover 
Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
(2022). Front Cover. Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, 25 (2). Retrieved from 
https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss2/1 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ VCCS. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
VCCS. For more information, please contact tcassidy@vccs.edu. 
1
et al.: Front Cover
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022


Front Cover

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges 
Volume 25 
Number 2 A Lasting Legacy Pt. 2 Article 8 
12-14-2022 
Letter to the Editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch 
Glenn DuBois 
Virginia Community College System 
Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
DuBois, G. (2022). Letter to the Editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Inquiry: The Journal of the 
Virginia Community Colleges, 25 (2). Retrieved from https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss2/8 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ VCCS. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
VCCS. For more information, please contact tcassidy@vccs.edu. 
Letter to the Editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch (2009) 
 
This Letter to the Editor was published on March 30, 2009. 
 
 
 am once again left without words after reading that a young person, with his entire future ahead 
of him, says, “A roof, a pillow, hot water,” when asked what he wants out of life.  Sadly, this is 
an all-too-common response from our foster youth. 
 
I appreciate Zachary Reid’s coverage of the Richmond housing summit in the Times-Dispatch on 
March 28 and the summit’s focus on the challenges of current and former foster care youth.  I 
wonder though, how many heart-wrenching stories like this have to be told before we stop treating 
foster youth like throw-away 
children. 
 
By the age of 25, one out of five 
former foster youth will be 
homeless.  Another quarter will be 
incarcerated.  Less than three 
percent of those children will 
graduate college. 
 
A future is a big price to pay for a 
child whose family is unable to care 
for him or her. 
 
The stories and statistics have compelled us to act at Virginia’s Community Colleges.  With the help 
of the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education and Anne Holton, Virginia’s First 
Lady, we are constructing a program called Great Expectations.  The goals of the program are to work 
with high school-aged foster youth to keep them in school and then to help them attend and 
complete a community college program.  
 
I am proud of the good people from within our colleges and the larger community who are working 
hard to make this effort a success.  But we can always use more help.  Please take a look at our 
website at www.GreatExpectations.vccs.edu to learn how you can join us to make a difference for 
children who are too often forgotten by our community. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Glenn DuBois, Chancellor 
Virginia’s Community Colleges 
I 
1
DuBois: Letter to the Editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022


Letter to the Editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges 
Volume 25 
Number 2 A Lasting Legacy Pt. 2 Article 24 
12-14-2022 
Remarks for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education 
(2015) 
Glenn DuBois 
Virginia Community College System 
Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
DuBois, G. (2022). Remarks for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education (2015). Inquiry: The 
Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, 25 (2). Retrieved from https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/
vol25/iss2/24 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ VCCS. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
VCCS. For more information, please contact tcassidy@vccs.edu. 
Remarks for Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education (2015) 
 
These remarks were delivered at the General Assembly Building in Richmond, VA on January 27, 2015. 
 
 
r. Chairman, members of the subcommittee: good afternoon. I would like to begin by 
thanking our colleagues at JLARC for helping raise awareness about the higher education 
issue of our time – and that is the urgent and growing demand in the marketplace for postsecondary 
credentials. These are not to be confused with college degrees. In fact, these are almost always below 
the bachelor’s degree level and typically below the associate’s degree level. 
 
Our respective agencies do not see eye-to-eye over everything in the JLARC report. However, we 
are grateful for their work in this area and for the report’s acknowledgement that Virginia’s 
Community Colleges are: 
 
• “Aligned with the labor market;” 
• “Match[ing] education and training opportunities with employer needs;” 
• “Offer[ing] the most credentials in fields with the greatest number of employment 
opportunities;” and 
• “Provid[ing] courses for several occupations that employers describe as being challenging to 
fill.” 
 
Those are all direct quotes from the report and much appreciated by the VCCS employees who 
make our Workforce Development Services go. 
 
Credentials 
It’s fair to ask: what are these credentials 
and why do they matter so much? Simply 
stated, they are today’s passport to a 
solid and stable middle class lifestyle. 
 
The industry-recognized credentials, 
certifications and licensures in question 
opens doors to many of Virginia’s 
fastest-growing and most highly 
demanded jobs. That includes both blue-
collar and white-collar careers, such as: 
 
• Healthcare; 
• Specialty welding; 
• Project management; 
• Next-generation 
manufacturing; 
• Pharmacy technician; and 
• The hardest to fill job in Northern Virginia today, electrician. 
 
M 
1
DuBois: Remarks for the Education Subcommittee (2015)
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022
People typically earn these credentials in a matter of weeks or months, not semesters and years. 
Individuals pursuing these credentials today come from every segment of Virginia, including: 
 
• High school graduates who lack the means to immediately pursue the university experience 
and the desire go into debt for it; 
• Bachelor’s degree holders who seek to add technical relevance to their university educations; 
and 
• Working professionals looking to advance in their existing career, or begin another. 
 
These credentials represent the lifelong learning ideal, discussed since the founding of our nation. 
These credentials often represent critical missing links, in the chain connecting Virginians seeking 
great jobs to the companies that hire them. 
 
Economic experts say that 1.5 million jobs will have to filled in Virginia over the next decade. More 
than half of them will demand a licensure, apprenticeship or certification – not the traditional college 
degree. These jobs will be the most highly demanded jobs and the most numerous available. Those 
estimates align with national forecasts of the country’s future job needs. 
 
2015 legislative agenda 
A growing number of states across our nation are prioritizing these credentials as a way to become 
more competitive. Some 19 states are investing heavily in the workforce training necessary to earn 
these credentials, including several of our neighbors like Maryland, North Carolina and South 
Carolina. Sadly, Virginia is trailing the pack. Virginia’s larger budget challenges mean that we must be 
measured in how we elect to pursue this urgent priority. But there is way to begin that is reasonable, 
responsible and emphasizes the return on a public investment. 
 
Your colleague, and our mutual friend, Senator Frank Ruff is pursuing a bill to establish the 
Community College Workforce Training Grant Program. This modestly priced proposal would 
generate an additional 7,500 high-demand credentials. It does so by reimbursing a Virginia 
community college $1,000 when a student successfully earns a credential, identified regionally as 
high demand by business and industry. This is a game-changer proposal that directly links pay for 
performance. 
 
The JLARC workforce report mentions that where they believe Virginia needs more of our 
workforce training programs, “the absence of these in-demand courses is due in part to resource 
constraints.” Senator Ruff’s bill is not a panacea for those resource constraints; though it is a vital 
first step in creating a way for the Commonwealth to begin investing in those credentials that our 
business leaders demand. 
 
We are also supporting a measure in the introduced budget for $1 million in need-based financial aid 
for students pursuing these credentials through non-credit workforce pathways. Some of the 
credentials I’ve mentioned can be accessed through traditional, academically accredited programs, 
but that’s not so for all of them. And that seemingly bureaucratic distinction can make all the 
difference to an individual student.  
 
2
Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, Vol. 25, No. 2 [2022], Art. 24
https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss2/24
Antiquated rules keep financial aid dollars out-of-reach from nearly every student in these non-credit 
workforce pathways. These old policies are a disservice to our students, our colleges and our 
employers – and frankly, they are out of line with the very spirit of financial aid. 
 
I would urge your support for both of these measures as small steps to connecting individuals with 
the skills that our employers are seeking.  
 
Complete 2021 
Our legislative priorities correspond with the priorities that Virginia’s Community Colleges are 
pursuing internally. Throughout my tenure, we have pursued strategic plans in six-year segments. 
Our current plan ends in June. The next one, called Complete to Compete 2021, will likely be approved 
by our Board this spring, and begin in July. 
 
This new plan is bold in that it contains only a single goal and that is to triple the number of 
postsecondary credentials that our 23 community colleges put into the Virginia economy by the year 
2021. That includes tripling the number of these workforce credentials that I have been talking 
about this afternoon. Nothing about that goal is easy. But nothing worthwhile ever is. 
 
21st century students 
Our challenge is compounded by the audacity of our mission. Virginia’s Community Colleges were 
created nearly half a century ago to address Virginia’s unmet higher education and workforce needs. 
In many places, that takes the form of offering second chances to people who’ve been roughed up a 
little by life, and first chances to those who never got them. 
 
Often, articulating what that means in terms of day-to-day reality is a challenge for us. Some see us 
as junior universities and measure us against what they experienced during their years living on a 
campus. Others see us only as workforce training providers, assuming a greater role in what 
employers once did for themselves. Both perspectives contain elements of truth though neither 
capture the entire picture. 
 
Last fall, nearly 60,000 students enrolled in college for the first time at one of our institutions. While 
it can be hard to believe, many of them are the first in their family to ever go to college. Every 
semester, we serve 27,000 high school students who are taking college courses. Nearly half of our 
students are minorities and we are the commonwealth’s leading provider of higher education to 
African American as well as Hispanic and Latino students. In fact, one of our institutions, Northern 
Virginia Community College is educating 20-percent more African American individual students 
(9,008) than Norfolk State University (3,966) and Virginia Union University (3,302), combined. One 
out of every three of our students is 25 or older. 
 
When it comes to higher education, our colleges are a modern day Ellis Island. We embrace the 
complexities that creates, secure in the knowledge that Virginia is a better place and opportunity is 
more accessible because our colleges exist. And we are grateful for the integral role that your 
support plays in our enterprise. 
 
Obama and Tennessee 
Mr. Chairman, the invitation to speak here today included a request that I offer a few thoughts on 
the free community college plan introduced earlier this month by President Obama. And – I think – 
3
DuBois: Remarks for the Education Subcommittee (2015)
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022
that I am happy to do that. As we all know, there is no such thing as free. Meaningful higher 
education is no exception. Someone, somewhere, has to pay to make it happen. 
 
But let’s remove money from the conversation, just for a moment. When I was growing up, a high 
school diploma was a perfectly acceptable place to stop your education. That was enough to access 
plenty of jobs, many of which could 
even support a family. 
But it wasn’t always that way. It took 
a long time throughout the 20th 
century for every state to agree to 
publicly fund education for everyone 
through the 12th grade. It ensured that 
individuals had access to good jobs 
and that employers could find 
educated people to hire. 
 
Well, today, the bar has been raised. 
A high school diploma is no longer 
the finish line. Labor economist say 
two out of three jobs across the 
nation will require some form of 
postsecondary education before the 
current decade is finished. So, what 
we have today is a democrat administration in Washington offering one idea on how to remove 
price as a barrier to the education individuals really need to succeed. And we have a republican 
administration in Tennessee offering another idea – in that case, the reallocation of lottery proceeds 
– to remove price as a barrier to that same education. 
 
We even have a place in Virginia where this kind of idea is playing out. Wythe and Bland counties 
are using the endowment created by the sale of a hospital system to offer a similar free education to 
its residents at Wytheville Community College. It’s a difference maker for a lot of families there. It’s 
also a major reason why the Aspen Institute identified Wytheville Community College as one of our 
nation’s top performing institutions. 
 
So, what I would like to suggest to you is that we are at the beginning of a really big conversation 
about this. The need to get more people into college and for them to earn a postsecondary credential 
is market-driven. It’s not going away. So, the ideas like we’ve seen from D.C. and Tennessee are not 
going away. 
 
It is in our interest – and I’m talking about the communities that we serve, not our colleges – it is in 
our best interest to have that conversation, especially in venues like this committee and others,  
about what’s needed in Virginia for the families and the businesses that call it home. The urgency of 
this issue will only increase with each passing year. 
 
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my formal remarks. I would be happy to take any questions the 
committee may have. 
4
Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, Vol. 25, No. 2 [2022], Art. 24
https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss2/24


Remarks for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education (2015)

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges 
Volume 26 Number 1 Article 1 
4-17-2023 
Front Cover (Spring 2023) 
Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry 
 Part of the Art and Design Commons, and the Higher Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
(2023). Front Cover (Spring 2023). Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, 26 (1). 
Retrieved from https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol26/iss1/1 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ VCCS. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
VCCS. For more information, please contact tcassidy@vccs.edu. 
1
et al.: Cover
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2023


Video: Supporting Students through the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges 
Volume 25 
Number 1 A Lasting Legacy Article 9 
4-6-2022 
Remarks at the Great Expectations Forum 
Glenn DuBois 
Virginia Community College System 
Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
DuBois, G. (2022). Remarks at the Great Expectations Forum. Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia 
Community Colleges, 25 (1). Retrieved from https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss1/9 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ VCCS. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
VCCS. For more information, please contact tcassidy@vccs.edu. 
Remarks at the Great Expectations Forum 
 
This brief speech was delivered at the Hilton in Short Pump on April 5, 2012. 
 
 
adies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, Great Expectations students, good afternoon. It’s a 
pleasure to welcome you to our 5th annual Great Expectations education forum. We created 
this program in 2008 to make a difference – and today is a remarkable reminder that we are making 
a difference as we honor the largest graduating class in the program’s history. Of course, we couldn’t 
do that alone. The recipe for success today requires strong connections and strong partnerships. 
 
Rising up from 2% 
We began Great Expectations to end what too many people know is the two-percent club. Across 
America, young people who are, or have been, in foster care go on to graduate from college at a rate 
of less than two percent. It’s a national tragedy. Two percent should describe the milk we pour into 
our cereal, not the success rate of the children in our community.  
 
Well, ladies and gentlemen, since we began Great Expectations in 2008, we have grown bigger and 
better every year. We began by serving students at five of Virginia’s 23 community colleges. We will 
soon be opening a Great Expectations program at our 16th college. We began by having to find 
foster youth to serve in our program. We knew there were probably some enrolled in our colleges, 
but we didn’t really know who they were or what we needed to do to help them succeed. We have 
served more than 1,000 students since 2008 and we are actively serving more than 500 Great 
Expectations students across Virginia today. 
 
We began with Virginia, like every other state, as part of the two-percent club. We are now in the 
ten-percent club and rising! The 53 graduates we are honoring later in today’s program are part of 
the more than 100 foster youth that Great Expectations has helped become college graduates. If that 
doesn’t make you proud, nothing ever will. 
  
What change looks like 
There is a focus today on convincing more young people – from all walks of life – to pursue and 
complete a college credential. That thrust is the centerpiece of the strategic plan, called Achieve 
2015, for Virginia’s Community Colleges. That thrust is the centerpiece of Virginia’s governor, Bob 
McDonnell, who is focusing his administration on creating 100,000 additional Virginia college 
graduates. And that thrust is the centerpiece of the Obama Administration, which is focused on 
creating five million more college graduates across the nation. 
 
Those are big numbers, aren’t they? They sound almost hypothetical, don’t they? So how does it all 
happen? Well, you’re looking at it. Take a look around the room. See the talented, smart, promising 
young people who are becoming college graduates. That’s what it’s all about. 
 
As I said, the recipe for success today requires strong connections and strong partnerships. Great 
Expectations, my friends, is making a difference. 
L 
1
DuBois: Remarks at the Great Expectations Forum
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022


Remarks at the Great Expectations Forum

Bishop, Nathaniel L.

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges 
Volume 25 
Number 1 A Lasting Legacy Article 19 
4-6-2022 
Letter from Nathaniel L. Bishop 
Nathaniel L. Bishop 
Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Bishop, N. L. (2022). Letter from Nathaniel L. Bishop. Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community 
Colleges, 25 (1). Retrieved from https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss1/19 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ VCCS. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
VCCS. For more information, please contact tcassidy@vccs.edu. 
 
 
 
April 6, 2022 
 
Dear Community College Supporters: 
 I have known no higher honor than to serve as a member, and now the chair, of the 
State Board for Community Colleges. As a proud graduate of New River Community College, I 
am intimately familiar with the life-changing opportunities that our colleges offer and the 
incredible people who bring our mission to life every day throughout our twenty-three 
colleges. 
 I keep all of that – and all of you – in mind as I lead the unenviable task of replacing a 
living legend and finding the next chancellor of Virginia’s Community Colleges. You can count 
on one hand the number of people who have earned the national reputation for community 
college leadership and innovation that Glenn DuBois has established over the course of his 
tenure as our chancellor. 
 This collection of speeches and materials shows us why. As chancellor, DuBois has 
shown a keen ability to foresee and understand the trends in higher education and workforce 
training and position our colleges to address those unmet needs across our communities. His 
leadership in creating the FastForward program, a national model, is giving us genuine hope 
that federal leaders may soon support credential-seekers through Pell grants. And our recently 
adopted strategic plan, Opportunity 2027, is a terrific bookend to a tenure that has advanced 
the cause of equity since day one. 
 I am proud to have spent my time on the Board working with Glenn DuBois and wish 
him nothing but the best as he eases into retirement. Our community college system is 
stronger today for his leadership and we are grateful for his more than two decades of service. 
    Sincerely, 
     
    Nathaniel L. Bishop, Chair 
    State Board for Community Colleges 
 
1
Bishop: Letter from Nathaniel L. Bishop
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022


Letter from Nathaniel L. Bishop

Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges 
Volume 25 
Number 1 A Lasting Legacy Article 1 
4-6-2022 
Front Cover 
Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry 
 Part of the Higher Education Commons 
Recommended Citation 
(2022). Front Cover. Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges, 25 (1). Retrieved from 
https://commons.vccs.edu/inquiry/vol25/iss1/1 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ VCCS. It has been accepted for 
inclusion in Inquiry: The Journal of the Virginia Community Colleges by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ 
VCCS. For more information, please contact tcassidy@vccs.edu. 
1
et al.: Front Cover
Published by Digital Commons @ VCCS, 2022


Virginia Community College System

Not a member yet

Remarks for the Manufacturing Development Commission

Remarks for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education (2017)

Front Cover

Letter to the Editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Remarks for the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Education (2015)

Video: Supporting Students through the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education

Remarks at the Great Expectations Forum

Letter from Nathaniel L. Bishop

Front Cover

Remarks at the Equity Summit

236

236