1966 – Governor Mills Godwin creates the VCCS, financed by the state’s first ever sales tax. Two colleges open, serving 7,500 students. Virginia Western Community College is considered the first college in Virginia’s community college system, opening in 1961 as Roanoke Technical Institute. Northern Virginia Community College was the second. Dr. Dana Hamel is named as the first Chancellor.
1972 – J. Sargeant Reynolds is the 23rd and final community college to open.
1987 – Dual Enrollment begins, allowing high school students to earn community college credit for classes.
1996 – VCCS begins offering online classes.
2004 – VCCS and Virginia Tech sign the first ever guaranteed admissions agreement for community college graduates. The VCCS now has over 50 guaranteed admissions agreements with colleges and universities in Virginia and beyond.
2008 – Great Expectations is launched at 5 colleges and becomes coaching model for all 23 VCCS colleges, recognized as a national model for foster youth. Since the program’s inception, nearly 4,000 young people with foster care experience have enrolled in college. Great Expectations students achieve graduation rates at 2x the national average for foster youth. Annually, nearly 10,000 people are identified as a “potential pool” of GE participants, and only 500 are enrolled in the program statewide.
2009 – The Virginia Community College System (VCCS), in partnership with the Virginia Department of Education, launches the Virginia Wizard site beginning in 2009. It offers resources for students and adults to explore careers, find colleges, plan for college costs, and apply for financial aid.
2011 – The first VFCCE Fellows Program beings to help promising second-year students at Virginia’s Community Colleges pursue academic and career success while strengthening their leadership skills in the community. A collaborative partnership between corporate, foundation, and private donors, this program provides students with financial resources, opportunities to grow and develop as leaders, and a valuable network of peers and mentors. The Fellows program is a leadership program where students support each other and their community through a service project. Fellows participate in a series of in-person and virtual leadership development activities, network building, and ongoing mentoring to help them succeed and flourish in college and beyond.
2014 – The Rural Virginia Horseshoe Initiative (RVHI) is launched, spearheaded by the Late Gerald L. Baliles, 65th Governor of Virginia. Fourteen of the state’s twenty-three community colleges are located in Virginia’s Rural Horseshoe, an arc of countryside stretching from the Eastern Shore to the far Southwest and up the Shenandoah Valley. The RVHI is working to cut in half, from over 20% to under 10%, the number of residents living within the Rural Horseshoe who lack a high school diploma or its equivalent. The Initiative also aims to double the percentage of rural residents who earn an associate degree or other college certification from 26% to 52%. RVHI places career coaches in rural high schools to guide students through the transition to college, and offers targeted scholarships for post-secondary degrees and certifications for students of all ages. The Initiative develops workforce training programs that can launch students into sustainable and rewarding careers.
2015 – The Virginia Foundation for Community College hosts a luncheon to present a philanthropic partner at each college who has made significant contributions to the mission. The Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy luncheon, now in its 20th year, has celebrated over 460 donors who have contributed more than $248 million to the Virginia Community College System.
2016 – The General Assembly enacts legislation to create and sustain a supply of credentialed workers for high-demand occupations. The program was implemented as FastForward at Virginia’s Community Colleges. FastForward is intended to close the skills gap by making workforce training more affordable and accessible, and by meeting local employment needs. The program focuses on training individuals for high-demand careers in a matter of weeks or months, not years. The program has grown significantly since 2016, with funding from the General Assembly increasing over time. FastForward has successfully awarded over 64,000 credentials as of early 2025. Graduates have seen substantial increases in wages, and the program has been highly praised by Virginia’s business leaders.
2016 – The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gala in October 2016 that raised approximately $2.4 million for the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education (VFCCE). The funds were designated to provide financial support to students facing urgent, unforeseen events that might otherwise interrupt their education, managed through the DuBois Student Success Fund. This fund is named for Glenn DuBois, the longest-serving chancellor in VCCS history from 2001-2022.
2016 – The VCCS Power Line Worker program begins at Southside Virginia in 2016 and will expand gradually to Wytheville, Mountain Empire and Patrick & Henry, and Laurel Ridge Community Colleges. The power line worker program is highly successful, evidenced by a high completion rate (98%) and a strong job placement rate.
2017 – Governor Terry McAuliffe kicks off the VCCS 50th anniversary gala event, which raises nearly $2.3 million for Virginia’s Community Colleges.
2017 – The VCCS launches the Credits2Careers portal which evaluates your prior learning and provides an estimate of how many college credits apply toward a degree or certification at Virginia’s community colleges. The platform allows you to connect with advisors at the college(s) of your choice to discuss your goals and options. The portal is intended to serve military members and veterans, adult learners and career switchers, individuals who have completed Fast Forward or industry certifications, and justice-impacted individuals.
2019 – Transfer Virginia began in 2018 with legislation addressing transfer policies and led to the creation of a portal; common course learning outcomes; and collaboration among the Commonwealth’s two- and four-year colleges and universities, in coordination with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), and the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. Transfer Virginia works to remove gateway barriers and improve credit efficiency, time to transfer, and degree attainment rates.
2021 – Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signs legislation creating “Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back” initiative, or “G3” program, which makes tuition-free community college available to low- and middle-income students who pursue jobs in high-demand fields such as health care, early childhood education, information technology and computer science, public safety and manufacturing and skilled trades.
2022 – “Pathways to VCU” program is launched through funding provided by the VFCCE which aims to help community college students transfer to Virginia Commonwealth University for arts and humanities programs.
2023 – David Doré, Ed.D. becomes the 10th Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System on April 1, 2023. The Chancellor leads the implementation of Virginia’s Community Colleges’ Strategic Plan, Accelerate Opportunity 2024-2030 with the over-arching goal to award 300,000 cumulative meaningful credentials by 2030 across all regions through accelerated access and success for every student.
2023 – College Attainment for Parent Scholars (CAPS) is launched at five pilot colleges. Students who are single parents with at least one dependent child will receive direct student support each semester. Scholars receive individualized mentoring, career readiness support, counseling, and access to emergency aid and a parenting support program every quarter.
2024 – The A. James Clark Engineering Transfer Pipeline Program is implemented by the VFCCE with private grant assistance to address the critical shortage of engineering talent. This program provides community college engineering students with direct financial assistance, coaching, career guidance, mentorship, and internship opportunities to ensure they successfully complete their degree and transfer to a four-year university.
2024 – State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) publishes the 2024-25-tuition tuition and fees report which highlights that students who complete an associate degree at a community college and transfer to a baccalaureate institution can save an average of $21,423 of the cost of a bachelor’s degree.
2025 – The College and Career Ready Virginia (CCRV) Program, established by House Bill 1087 and Senate Bill 627 (2024), required school divisions to offer qualified students access to no-cost dual enrollment courses that fulfill the Passport and/or UCGS Certificate.