Supporting Support Staff: We specialize in equipping any staff or faculty that provide direct student support with the tools and knowledge necessary to thrive in their roles through connection and collaboration.

Enhancing Student Success: By strengthening the support network, we support student achievement and overall well-being through the sharing of knowledge and best practices.

Provide Resources: We curate a comprehensive library of online modules, handouts, and best practices to equip you in your vital role of supporting students.

Facilitate Professional Development: We offer collaborative meetings, standalone trainings, virtual workshops, and other programs to enhance your skills and knowledge in supporting student success initiatives.

Foster Collaboration: We connect you with student success colleagues across the VCCS, fostering a network of shared expertise and support.

The Student Success Center supports the ten smallest schools funding for the Chancellor’s College Success Coach Initiative (CSCI) program. This program aims to increase student persistence and success, aligning with the 2030 Strategic Plan Accelerate Opportunity. This initiative focuses on access, learning outcomes, and success for students from all backgrounds. College Success Coaches provide support to identified students who could benefit from additional support, fostering student connection, entry, progression, and completion. 

Colleges can apply for funding to hire college success coaches who will provide academic and workforce coaching to students. The coaches will help students with things like career planning, financial aid, and completing coursework. 

The goal is to improve student outcomes such as course completion rates, graduation rates, and credential attainment.

For more information about this program or funding please email StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu

The VCCS Student Success Center team offers Virginia Career Coach Certification (VCCC) program and the Facilitating Career Development (FCD) course - check out our trainings and workshops list for more detailed information on each course.

The VCCS Student Success Center team offers a monthly Coaching & Advising Connection meeting for coaches, advisors, Navigators and other student success professionals for added support, sharing best practices, technical assistance needs, and timely professional development. 

We also offer monthly and on-demand technical assistance sessions; times will vary. These sessions support student success professionals with training opportunities in technologies such as EAB Navigate, SIS, and Salesforce, as well as sharing updates and changes in financial aid, Transfer VA, and healthcare initiatives as examples.

We now have a Coordinator of Access and Advising, who will offer support with a specific focus on faculty advisors, professional advisors and G3 advisors. Stay tuned for upcoming programming, training, and networking opportunities to collaborate, strategize and develop advising initiatives that will improve student access, success and retention.

Check the calendar for more information about monthly meetings, or contact StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu with questions

The CAPS Program is an innovative initiative dedicated to improving educational and economic outcomes for single-parent students across Virginia's community colleges. After a successful pilot phase from September 2022 to May 2025, which demonstrated promising results in supporting low-income single parents through personalized coaching, wrap-around services, and targeted financial assistance, we are ready to scale our impact.

Lessons learned from the pilot program at Brightpoint, Central Virginia, Germanna, New River, and Tidewater Community Colleges have been invaluable. These colleges worked diligently to assess and reform policies and practices related to expanding outreach, improving student support, building a family-friendly environment, addressing affordability, and committing to sustainability.

The new iteration of CAPS will build upon this strong foundation, incorporating a coaching model inspired by other successful VCCS programs. Our focus will be on serving more students across the commonwealth while continuing to provide comprehensive, high-touch support that addresses the unique challenges faced by parent-students, such as balancing childcare responsibilities with academic commitments and managing financial constraints.

For more information about this program, please email StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu

Funded by Commonwealth Savers, the FastForward program provides career coaches at fourteen Virginia community colleges with crucial support for students enrolled in short-term credential programs. 

The Student Success Center strengthens this initiative by hosting monthly meetings where these coaches can collaborate, share best practices, and access resources to better assist students throughout their academic journey and into their chosen careers.

For FastForward coaches, a dedicated website with resources is available. Please make sure you are logged into your VCCS Google Account to access the site.

For further information or questions, coaches can email StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu

The Great Expectations Program helps young people who have experienced foster care gain access to and succeed in higher education, workforce training and employment opportunities, and assists them in transitioning to living independently. 

Students work with a coach at one of 23 Virginia Community Colleges who helps them navigate college and access supportive services. They can also receive financial help for housing, transportation, childcare and educational expenses. Great Expectations is available to students in VCCS academic/credit programs and VCCS workforce and career training programs.

National research confirms that young people who experience foster care face an uphill struggle as they age out, suffering higher rates of homelessness, lower educational attainment and reduced lifetime earnings. Since the program’s beginning in 2008, almost 5000 VCCS students have been enrolled in Great Expectations.  

The national college success rate for students without family support is estimated at eight percent. With help from Great Expectations, 16 percent of our participants earn associate degrees. When you include the number of GE participants who earn workforce or career training credentials, the success rate is 22 percent.

For more information about this program or funding please email StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu

Fourteen of the state’s twenty-three community colleges are in Virginia’s Rural Horseshoe, an arc of countryside stretching from the Eastern Shore to the far Southwest and up the Shenandoah Valley. The Rural Virginia Horseshoe Initiative (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%. Through partnerships through the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education and Virginia 529, The Student Success Center works with community colleges to place 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.

For more information about this program please email StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu

Welcome aboard! We understand transitioning to a new role can be overwhelming. 

To help you get started, contact  StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu and complete this google form.

Supporting VCCS Faculty and Staff: By investing in professional growth, our colleagues are better equipped to adapt to changing educational landscapes, lead initiatives that improve student success, and maintain a culture of excellence across the system. 

Enhancing Student Success: Our commitment to system-wide professional growth ensures that our workforce remains dynamic, engaged, and prepared to meet the needs of Virginia’s student population. 

Facilitate Professional Development: We offer and host conferences, trainings, workshops, and other opportunities for all faculty and staff to learn, share, and grow in their practices.

Provide Resources: We provide access to Go2Knowledge, an online on-demand library of professional development tools, in addition to hosting VCCS-built resources.

The Student Success Center team hosts regular professional development sessions in addition to occasional series and academies. Take a look at our calendar to see what's coming up, or browse through the workshops we offer - just reach out if you would like us to bring it to you!

For more information about trainings and workshops, check out our PD Opportunities page.

The Student Success Center proudly organizes and hosts the annual New Horizons conference in the spring. Learn more on our New Horizons page.

Check our calendar regularly for upcoming workshops, training sessions, and networking opportunities.

The PD & Logistics team provides logistical support for all Student Success Center initiatives, as well as several system-wide conferences, meetings, and summits throughout the year, including:

• Administrative Services Conference

• Hire Ed Conference

• Student Leadership Conference

• Chancellor's Retreat

• Chancellor's Workforce Summits

• CODD/ASAC/WDAC meetings

• System-wide Professional Development Webinars

If you're interested in learning more about any of these, email Logistics@vccs.edu, and we can connect you to the host committee. 

The Student Success Center team provides virtual and in-person space for Peer Groups, inviting colleagues across colleges and offices to work together to ease access and share knowledge.

Check out our Peer Group page for more information

The VCCS Student Success Center team offers bimonthly collaboration meetings with Disability Coordinators for sharing best practices, changes in policy, and creating a community of practice for those who work with students with disabilities at our colleges. 

For more information about monthly meetings and our Canvas page, email StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu

The Student Success Center team hosts a community of practice for those around the Commonwealth who are working with Veterans or military affiliated students at our colleges. This group meets bimonthly and through a Canvas page to share best practices, changes in policy, and resources.

For more information about this group, email StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu

Research shows that the majority of our students face basic needs insecurities. In order to address these challenges, Virginia's Community Colleges partnered with Single Stop to help our students access federal, state, and local resources. 

The Student Success Center team hosts a community of practice for Single Stop points of contact at our colleges so that they can share best practices and resources through monthly meetings and a Canvas page.

For more information about this group, email StudentSuccessCoaching@vccs.edu

The Student Success Center team hosts, provides, and supports many other resources. Explore the resource page for more information and links to VCCS opportunities, or check out the outside opportunities page to see what other organizations are doing.