Virginia Highlands Community College
- Virginia Highlands Community College promotes lifelong learning by providing quality, affordable higher education including workforce training programs that enable community members to succeed in today's world.
School Highlights
- Virginia Highlands Community College serves 2,505 students (44% of students are full-time).
- The college's student:teacher ratio of 32:1 is lower than the state community college average of 36:1.
- Minority enrollment is 7% of the student body (majority Black), which is more than the state average of 43%.
- Virginia Highlands Community College is the only community colleges within Washington County, VA.
- The nearest community college to Virginia Highlands Community College is Southeast Culinary & Hospitality College (12.4 miles away).
School Overview
- The teacher population of 79 teachers has stayed relatively flat over five years.
| Virginia Highlands Community College | (VA) Community College Avg. | |
| Carnegie Classification | Baccalaureate / Associates Colleges | Baccalaureate / Associates Colleges |
| Institution Level | Less than 2 yrs | At least 2 but less than 4 years |
| Institution Control | Public | Public |
| Total Faculty | 79 staff | 45 staff |
| Total Enrollment | 2,505 students | 1,577 students |
 | ||
| Student : Teacher Ratio | 32:1 | 36:1 |
| # Full-Time Students | 1,095 students | 717 students |
| # Part-Time Students | 1,410 students | 860 students |
 |  | |
| % Asian | - | 6% |
| % Hispanic | 2% | 8% |
| % Black | 4% | 22% |
| % White | 93% | 57% |
| % Two or more races | 1% | 2% |
 |  | |
| Diversity Score | 0.13 | 0.62 |
 | ||
| College Completion Rate | 24% | 30% |
| Average Graduate Earnings (10 Years) | $26,700 | $29,400 |
Source: 2016 (or latest year available) IPEDS
School Notes
- Virginia Highlands Community College was established on November 30, 1967 by action of the State Board for Community Colleges, and assigned a service region of Washington County, the western portion of Smyth County, and the city of Bristol, Virginia. Today it is one of 23 community colleges within the Virginia Community College System. During its first academic year, 1969-1970, VHCC began delivering the occupational-technical programs that formerly were offered by the Washington County Technical School. More than 300 students enrolled in the first Virginia Highlands classes, which were offered at night in the technical school's facilities. The College moved to its permanent 100-acre campus during the summer of 1970 and, in response to the community's needs, expanded its course offerings to include both occupational-technical programs and baccalaureate-transfer programs. The college buildings are located on a 100 acre campus occupied for the first time in the 1970 summer session. These modern buildings include laboratories, shops, classrooms, offices and a library. In the fall of 1986 the college opened a new 40,000 square feet Learning Resources Center/Business Technologies Building which added dramatically to the educational services available to the region. In the summer of 1994, students, faculty, staff, and administration began using a new 22,000 square feet OccupationalTechnical Center building. There are labs for the air conditioning, heating, general engineering technologies and police science curricula plus a number of offices for faculty and administrators. Virginia Highlands Community College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the Associate Degree.
Nearby Schools
- The nearest community college to Virginia Highlands Community College is Southeast Culinary & Hospitality College (12.4 miles away).
- College Location Mi. Students
- Southeast Culinary & Hospitality CollegePrivate, for profit9 students | 12.40 Mi100 Piedmont Ave
Bristol, VA 24201
(276)591-5699 12.409 - 5,865 students | 27.10 Mi2425 Hwy 75
Blountville, TN 37617
(423)323-3191 27.105,865 - 2,546 students | 29.60 Mi369 College Road US Rt. 19, 6 Miles S. Claypool Hill
Richlands, VA 24641
(276)964-2555 29.602,546 - 2,718 students | 43.30 Mi3441 Mountain Empire Road
Big Stone Gap, VA 24219
(276)523-2400 43.302,718 - 1,128 students | 52.80 Mi200 Mayland Drive
Spruce Pine, NC 28777
52.801,128
Recent Articles
We continue to report on the ongoing saga in the California community college system. Schools are now opening for fall semester with fewer courses due to serious budget cuts, and students are feeling the academic pain.
The role of community colleges in the world of higher education has expanded over the years and, as the country works to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, they may be more important now than ever. Read on to learn more about the changing role of community colleges.
Colleges across the country are struggling to recover from the massive upheaval to the 2019-20 semester wrought by COVID-19. Housing refunds and slashed budgets are bound to have long-term impacts for the institutions that survive. Some experts suggest community colleges may be the best equipped to ride out the storm and may have the greatest impact in helping America recover.
