Virginia Highlands Community College

100 VHCC Drive
Abingdon, VA 24212-0828
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Tel: (276) 739-2400
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  • 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 ClassificationBaccalaureate / Associates CollegesBaccalaureate / Associates Colleges
Institution LevelLess than 2 yrsAt least 2 but less than 4 years
Institution ControlPublicPublic
Total Faculty79 staff45 staff
This chart display total faculty of Virginia Highlands Community College and community college average number of faculty in VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.

Student Body

  • The student population of Virginia Highlands Community College has stayed relatively flat over five years.
  • The student:teacher ratio of 32:1 has stayed the same over five years.
  • The Virginia Highlands Community College diversity score of 0.13 is less than the state average of 0.62. The school's diversity has stayed relatively flat over five years.
Total Enrollment2,505 students1,577 students
This chart display the total enrollment of Virginia Highlands Community College and community college average number of enrollment of VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
Student : Teacher Ratio32:136:1
This chart display the student staff ratio of Virginia Highlands Community College and community college average student staff ratio of VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
# Full-Time Students1,095 students717 students
This chart display the total number of Full-Time students enrollment of Virginia Highlands Community College and average number of community college Full-Time students enrollment of VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
# Part-Time Students1,410 students860 students
This chart display the total number of Part-Time students enrollment of Virginia Highlands Community College and average number of community college Part-Time students enrollment of VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
This chart display the Full-Time students and Part-Time students enrollment breakdown of Virginia Highlands Community College.This chart display community college average Full-Time students and Part-Time students enrollment breakdown of VA.
% Asian		-
6%
This chart display the percentage of Asian students in Virginia Highlands Community College and the percentage of Asian community college students in VA by year, with the latest 2012-13 school year data.
% Hispanic
2%
8%
This chart display the percentage of Hispanic students in Virginia Highlands Community College and the percentage of Hispanic community college students in VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
% Black
4%
22%
This chart display the percentage of Black students in Virginia Highlands Community College and the percentage of Black community college students in VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
% White
93%
57%
This chart display the percentage of White students in Virginia Highlands Community College and the percentage of White community college students in VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
% Two or more races
1%
2%
This chart display the percentage of Two or more races students in Virginia Highlands Community College and the percentage of Two or more races community college students in VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
This chart display the percentage breakdown of students of all ethnic groups in Virginia Highlands Community College.This chart display the percentage breakdown of students of all ethnic groups in VA.
Diversity Score0.130.62
This chart display the diversity score of Virginia Highlands Community College and the community college average diversity score of VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
College Completion Rate
24%
30%
This chart display completion rates for First-Time of Full-Time students of Virginia Highlands Community College and community college average completion rates for First-Time of Full-Time students of VA by year, with the latest 2014-15 school year data.
Average Graduate Earnings (10 Years)$26,700$29,400
This chart display average graduate earnings (10 Years) of Virginia Highlands Community College and community college average graduate earnings (10 Years) of VA by year, disaggregated by student subgroups with the latest 2012-13 school year data.

Finances and Admission

  • The public in-state tuition of $4,170 is less than the state average of $4,550. The in-state tuition has grown by 14% over four years.
  • The public out-state tuition of $10,008 is more than the state average of $9,760. The out-state tuition has grown by 6% over four years.
In-State Tuition Fees$4,170$4,550
This chart display tuition fees for an in-state student of Virginia Highlands Community College and the public community college average tuition fees for an in-state student of VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
Out-State Tuition Fees$10,008$9,760
This chart display tuition fees for an out-of-state student of Virginia Highlands Community College and the public community college average tuition fees for an out-of-state student of VA by year, with the latest 2015-16 school year data.
% Students Receiving Some Financial Aid93%84%
This chart display the percent of students who is receiving some financial aid in Virginia Highlands Community College and the percent of community college students who is receiving some financial aid in VA by year, with the latest 2014-15 school year data.
Median Debt for Graduates--
Median Debt for Dropouts--
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.

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Quick Stats (2020-21)
  • Students: 2,505 students
  • In-state tuition: $4,170
  • Out-state tuition: $10,008
  • Student:teacher ratio: 32:1
  • Minority enrollment: 7%
Related School Videos
Virginia Highlands Community College - Campus Life 1:01

Virginia Highlands Community College - Campus Life

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Did You Know?
For Virginia public community colleges, the average tuition is approximately $4,550 per year for in-state students and $9,760 for out-of-state students. For private community colleges, the average yearly tuition is approximately $14,297 per year. Read more about average community college tuition costs across the country.

The average community college acceptance rate in Virginia is 80%. Read more about national community college acceptance rates.

Virginia community colleges have a diversity score of 0.62, which is lower than the national average of 0.65. The most diverse community college in Virginia is Northern Virginia Community College. Read more about community college diversity statistics in the USA.
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