NRCC History Book

68 on increasing the number from underserved populations by at least 85,000 individuals. (2) Affordability: Maintain tuition and fees at less than half of the comparable cost of attending Virginia’s public four-year institutions and increase the annual number of students who receive financial assistance through grants and scholarships by 36,000. (3) Student success: Triple the number of students graduating, transferring, or completing a workforce credential, including tripling the success of students from underserved populations. (4) Workforce: Increase the number of employer-provided training and services to 13,000, with a particular focus on high demand occupational fields. (5) Resources: Raise at least $550 million in gifts and grants to support the mission of Virginia’s community colleges. In 2011, to align with the second strategic plan, the college revised and combined the nine college goals that were written in 2003 into the following six goals: (1) Teaching and learning: To ensure that teaching and learning remain the institution’s focus. (2) Student access and opportunity: To ensure that all citizens in the service region have access to the college’s programs and services and the opportunity to achieve their educational goals. (3) Resources and advocacy: To expand the college’s funding base and to enhance the college’s image on a local, state, national, and (where appropriate) international basis. (4) Technology and campus environment: To build and sustain a world class technology environment; to provide a teaching and learning environment that is inviting, safe, and attractive, and that addresses the space needs of the college.

(5) Workforce development: To become the first-choice provider of training and ser vices for businesses and individuals within the service region.* (6) To continue to plan for the college’s future development, to achieve the highest possible quality in the college’s programs and services while meeting all mandated requirements, and to provide outstand ing customer service to all; and to provide progressive management and support of the college’s human resources while recognizing that people are the college’s most important resource. *The workforce development goal (Goal 5) was changed in 2016 to read “To provide high quality training for employers and individuals within the service region.” The Third Strategic Plan Complete 2021, the third strategic plan proposed in August 2014, focused on one goal through 2021: Virginia’s community colleges will lead the Commonwealth in the education of its people by tripling the num ber of credentials earned for economic vital ity and individual prosperity. Four objectives to help meet this goal included the following: (1) Connection objective: Increase VCCS fall admissions applications from 110,000 to 130,000 by 2017. (2) Entry objective: Increase admissions application enrollment yield from 52 percent to 60 percent systemwide. (3) Progression objectives: (a) Increase overall VCCS Fall-to-Spring Retention from 70 percent to 71 percent systemwide. (b) Increase overall VCCS Fall-to-Fall Retention from 48 percent to 60 percent systemwide. (4) Completion objectives: (a) Increase the overall annual VCCS graduates in

Chapter 2