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VPCC reports enrollment gains, pitches FastForward workforce training with York County
Summary
Virginia Peninsula Community College told the York County School Board it has seen consecutive enrollment growth and is expanding FastForward short-term credential programs and dual enrollment opportunities for York County students, emphasizing employer connections and high completion rates.
Virginia Peninsula Community College representatives briefed the York County School Board on March 23 about increasing enrollment, growth in dual enrollment and expansion of short-term workforce credentials through the state’s FastForward program.
“We’re growing once again as a college,” Steven Felker, VP for Institutional Effectiveness and Transformation at VPCC, told the board, citing two consecutive years of enrollment growth and continued momentum.
Felker said York County residents comprise the third-largest group of VPCC students and noted rapid expansion in dual-enrollment participation for York County high schoolers. VPCC officials said FastForward short-term certificate programs — typically paid one-third by the student and reimbursed by the state after credential completion — have experienced “almost 150% growth since they began” and are growing about 20% per year.
Kerry Brunio, VP for Academic Affairs, and other VPCC staff explained that FastForward programs are tied to employer needs and regional workforce pipelines (examples include welding, carpentry and health-profession certificates). Board members asked about program length, completion rates and employer connections; VPCC replied these programs can be “even shorter” than six months, report about 95% completion rates in many FastForward cohorts and maintain regional employer partnerships that often lead to direct placement.
VPCC also highlighted capital and program investments: a reopened theater at the Hampton campus, a Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Development, and a new trade center in Newport News offering work-based training with the Marine Industrial Base.
The college shared student-satisfaction feedback and outcomes data indicating high employment rates shortly after completion for career-technical and short-term credential graduates. VPCC invited board members to consider partnerships to increase York County student access to short-term credentialing and dual-enrollment pathways.
