Public Information

Virginia Highlands Community College, a division of the Virginia Community College System, is approved by the State Board for Community Colleges and by the Virginia Community College Systems Office. The associate degree curricula of the College have also been approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

 

Virginia Highlands Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. Virginia Highlands Community College also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Virginia Highlands Community College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).

 

The Nursing Program is approved by the Virginia State Board of Nursing and is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, Georgia 30326, (404) 975-5000, www.acenursing.org. ACEN is officially recognized as the national accrediting agency for nursing education by the Council on Post-secondary Accreditation (COPA) and by the U.S. Department of Education.

The Radiography program is accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiography, which is recognized by the Council on Post-secondary Accreditation (COPA) and by the U.S. Department of Education as the national accrediting agency for radiologic education.

 

The Emergency Medical Services Technology program is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Allied Health Educational Programs (CAAHEP), 1361 Park St. Clearwater, FL 33756, 727-210-2350.

 

VHCC is approved for listing in U.S. Department of Education directories and for participation in various federally sponsored programs of students aid and educational assistance. It has also been approved by the Committee on Veterans Education and the State Department of Education for training of veterans.

 

VHCC is an institutional member of the American Association of Community Colleges, the Southern Association of Community, Junior, and Technical Colleges, and the Association of Virginia Colleges.

View our July 2017 - July 2019 Strategic Plan

View our July 2015- June 2017 Strategic Plan

Virginia Highlands Community College Performance Indicators

Through its continuous and strategic planning processes Virginia Highlands Community College identifies, evaluates, and publishes goals and outcomes for student achievement that are appropriate to its mission, students, and programs. Through these planning processes VHCC has identified seven measures within five categories to document student success.

 

150%-time Graduation Rate

VHCC annually reports its 150%-time graduation rate for first-time, full-time degree/certificate seeking students to The Integrated Postsecondary Education System (IPEDS). VHCC has set a goal of at least 40% for the 150%-time graduation rate. The last three tables in this section disaggregate the graduation data by gender, race and ethnicity, and Pell status.

Table 1: 150%-Time Graduation Rate (First-Time, Full-Time)

IPEDS Report Year	Cohort	Cohort Size	Graduation Rate
2020-21	Fall 2017	293	40%
2021-22	Fall 2018	317	41%
2022-23	Fall 2019	334	44%

 

Table 1a: 150%-Time Graduation Rate by Gender

IPEDS Report Year	Cohort	Male		Female
		Cohort Size	Graduation Rate	Cohort Size	Graduation Rate
2020-21	Fall 2017	144	44%	149	36%
2021-22	Fall 2018	151	44%	166	37%
2022-23	Fall 2019	161	42%	173	46%

 

Table 1b: 150%-Time Graduation Rate by Race and Ethnicity

IPEDS Report Year	2020-21		2021-22		2022-23
Cohort	Fall 2017		Fall 2018		Fall 2019
Race	Cohort Size	Graduation Rate	Cohort Size	Graduation Rate	Cohort Size	Graduation Rate
Hispanic/Latino	5	20%	8	75%	4	50%
American Indian or Alaskan Native	2	0%	1	0%	1	100%
Asian	1	0%	3	67%	3	100%
Black or African American	5	20%	9	22%	8	25%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	1	100%	0	N/A	0	N/A
White	273	41%	278	40%	313	44%
Two or More Races	6	33%	18	39%	4	25%
Race and Ethnicity Unknown	0	N/A	0	N/A	1	0%
US Non-Resident	0	N/A	0	N/A	0	N/A

 

Table 1c: 150%-Time Graduation Rate by Pell Status

IPEDS Report Year	Cohort	Pell Recipient		Not a Pell Recipient
		Cohort Size	Graduation Rate	Cohort Size	Graduation Rate
2020-21	Fall 2017	196	32%	97	56%
2021-22	Fall 2018	208	38%	109	45%
2022-23	Fall 2019	238	42%	96	47%

 

Fall-to-Fall Retention and Persistence

Student success is an important part of VHCC’s mission. In order to measure that success VHCC measures fall-to-fall retention and persistence. For the fall-to-fall retention rate a retained student is defined as a student that is enrolled in a fall semester and is then enrolled in the next fall semester. For the fall-to-fall persistence rate a persisting student is defined as a retained student or a student that has graduated from the institution prior to the next fall semester. VHCC has set goals of 42% for fall-to-fall retention and 53% for fall-to-fall persistence.

Table 2: Fall-to-Fall Retention

Fall-to-Fall	Retention Rate
Fall 2019 to Fall 2020	43.0%
Fall 2020 to Fall 2021	44.0%
Fall 2021 to Fall 2022	40.1%

 

Table 3: Fall-to-Fall Persistence

Fall-to-Fall	Persistence Rate
Fall 2019 to Fall 2020	56.4%
Fall 2020 to Fall 2021	59.0%
Fall 2021 to Fall 2022	53.7%

 

Number of Credentials Awarded

Program completion is measured by the total number of credentials (associate degrees, certificates, and career studies certificates) awarded. VHCC has set a goal of at least 650 credentials will be awarded each academic year.

 

Licensure and Certification Pass Rates

Several programs in VHCC allow students to sit for licensure and certification exams once they have successfully completed the program. Success on these licensure and certification exams is a good measure of the success of the program. VHCC has currently chosen two examinations to measure: the NCLEX-RN and the EPA Refrigerant Handling Exam. The Virginia Board of Nursing (VBON) requires any nursing program in Virginia to have at least an 80% pass rate on the NCLEX-RN, so this is the goal set by VHCC. VHCC has set a goal of 85% certification rate on the EPA Refrigerant Handling Exam.

Table 5: NCLEX-RN Pass Rate

Semester of Graduation	NCLEX-RN Pass Rate
Spring 2020	77.0%
Spring 2021	70.5%
Spring 2022	91.0%

 

Table 6: EPA Refrigerant Handling Certification Rate

Semester of Graduation	EPA Certification Rate
Spring 2021	87.5%
Spring 2022	80.0%
Spring 2023	92.3%

 

The 200%-time Graduation Rate

VHCC has a large number of part-time students (approximately two-thirds of program-placed students). To supplement the measure of 150%-time graduation rate submitted to IPEDS, the college uses a 200%-time graduation rate based on a first-time in college cohort of degree/certificate seeking students that includes full-time and part-time students. VHCC has set a goal of 35% for the 200%-time graduation rate.

Table 7: 200%-Time Graduation Rate (First-Time, Full- or Part-Time)

Cohort	Graduation Rate
Fall 2017	37.9%
Fall 2018	37.0%
Fall 2019	40.8%

 

For any question about VHCC performance indicators or other college data, please contact Robert May, Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, at rmay@rahpouyanschool.com.

 

Statement of Purpose: The Virginia Community College System and Virginia Highlands Community College are committed to providing comprehensive higher education and workforce training programs and services that are financially and geographically accessible and that meet individual, business and community needs of the Commonwealth.

 

These values serve as a guide for the members of the VCCS/VHCC community when ethical issues arise:

• We are committed to learning environments that foster academic integrity.
• We will be good stewards of our resources and make effective and efficient use of them, thereby ensuring accountability to the state and to the communities we serve.
• We will maintain the confidentiality and security of information entrusted to us and share information only when authorized or required by law to do so.
• We will not accept any gift, favor, loan, service, business or professional opportunity from anyone knowing (or when it should be known) that it is offered in order to improperly influence the performance of our public duties. We will avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
• We will offer good faith and fair dealings to all those we serve and with each other. Our communications will be civil and professional.
• We will offer employment opportunities in accordance with State, Federal and System/College policies supporting the rights and recognizing the needs of all citizens regardless of gender, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, or political affiliation.
• We encourage and expect all members of the community to act in good faith and bring to the attention of the appropriate official any violation or potential violation of these principles.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) has created an institutional profile for each Virginia public college and university, and for each independent college or university participating in the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant Program.

VHCC SCHEV Profile

Virginia Highlands Community College is committed to and recognizes the importance of diversity in our college community. We seek to ensure equal opportunity and to sustain a climate of civility for all who work, study, or otherwise participate in the life of the college.

 

The College seeks to provide its students, faculty and staff with an environment free of exclusion and bigotry, thus promoting respect for and an inclusion of both differences and similarities in gender, age, religion, ethnicity, class, race, culture, geographic location, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, size, and physical ability. We seek to demonstrate respect and appreciation for all people in achieving our common goals.

Virginia Highlands Community College (VHCC) owns and operates a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4).  The college’s MS4 consists of features such as curb and gutter, drop inlets, ditches, and stormwater management facilities to convey, treat, and ultimately discharge stormwater runoff to surface waters.  The discharge of runoff from the MS4 is regulated under the Clean Water Act, as amended and pursuant to the State Water Control Law and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.  VHCC is authorized to discharge stormwater runoff from the Abingdon campus’s MS4 under the Virginia Stormwater Management Program regulations, Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Regulations (VPDES), and the Virginia State Water Control Law.  

 

VHCC has been issued permit coverage to discharge stormwater by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and in accordance with the General VPDES Permit for Discharges of Stormwater from Small MS4s (General Permit).  Compliance with the General Permit requires VHCC to develop, implement, and enforce an MS4 program.  The guidance document that describes how the college will maintain compliance with the General Permit is the VHCC MS4 Program Plan.  The Program Plan is required to include a description of the best management practices to address permit-specific requirements for the following minimum control measures (MCMs):

1. Public Education and Outreach
2. Public Involvement and Participation
3. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination
4. Construction Site Stormwater Runoff Control
5. Post-construction Stormwater Management
6. Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping

The VHCC MS4 Program Plan incorporates the following program-supporting stormwater program documents by reference:

• VHCC MS4 General Permit Coverage Letter
• VHCC MS4 Program Plan
• Virginia Community College System’s Annual Standards and Specifications for Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater Management
• Regulated Construction Site SWPPP Template
• VHCC Staff Handbook of Good Housekeeping and Pollution Prevention (including post-construction inspection/maintenance procedures for stormwater management facilities)
• VHCC MS4 mapping

VHCC demonstrates continued compliance to the MS4 General Permit with annual reporting.  Annual reports for each year of the current permit cycle

• 2022-2023 MS4 Annual Report
• 2020-2021 MS4 Annual Report
• 2019-2020 MS4 Annual Report
• 2018-2019 MS4 Annual Report

Illicit Discharges are prohibited on Campus

An illicit discharge is anything that goes “down the drain” (curb inlet, drainage ditch, directly discharged to a stream, etc.) that is not entirely composed of stormwater.  When source pollutants are introduced and mix with the stormwater, you then have an illicit discharge to the storm sewer system – which drains directly to our surface waters.  Stormwater is not treated before entering our local surface waters such as creeks and streams.  An illicit discharge can occur as a result of improper disposal and spills of potential pollutant sources and pollution from land disturbance.  Common pollutant sources associated with illicit discharge are listed below.

Automotive fluids (oil, fuel, antifreeze)	Paints
Animal carcasses (bacteria)	Pet waste (bacteria)
Cooking oil and grease	Solvents (i.e. acetone, ethanol)
Chemical cleansers (e.g. detergents, soaps)	Salt and other deicing agents
Dumpster leachate	Sanitary sewer overflows
Misuse of fertilizer	Sediment (i.e. stockpiles, erosion)
Misuse of pesticides & herbicides	Trash
Landscaping waste (i.e. grass clippings)	Vehicle/equipment washwater

 

VHCC policy prohibits non-stormwater (illicit) discharges, including illegal dumping, into the college’s storm sewer system. Elimination of any sources of an illicit discharge and enforcement of the prohibition is implemented utilizing language within the Standards of Conduct for VHCC employees and Student Handbook for VHCC students. Disciplinary action, including restitution, can be taken by the college in cases of negligent, willful or continued cause of illicit discharge.

Exempt discharges not typically considered as sources of an illicit discharge. 

Water line flushing	Air conditioning condensation
Landscape irrigation	Irrigation water
Diverted stream flows	Springs
Rising ground waters	Water from crawl space pumps
Uncontaminated ground water infiltration	Footing drains
Uncontaminated pumped ground water	Lawn watering
Discharges from potable water sources	Individual residential car washing
Foundation drains	Flows from riparian habitats and wetlands
Dechlorinated swimming pool discharges	Street wash water

 

Please share your suggestions to us keep our waterways clean!

• VHCC Stormwater Outreach and Education Survey
   

 Reporting a pollution concern or an illicit discharge 

We can all help to keep pollution out of our local creeks and streams.  If you observe an illicit discharge or a potential pollutant source such as an animal carcass, open dumpster, sediment from a construction site or other type of pollutant that could be exposed to stormwater, please call or email to report to VHCC using the information below:

Pollution Hotline: email kspencer@rahpouyanschool.com or call (276)739-2510

When reporting, please provide the:

• Date of the observed potential or occurring illicit discharge
• Location of the observed potential or occurring illicit discharge; and
• Pollutant source, if known (i.e. spilled paint, trash, etc.)