This report is provided in response to language in the 2022 Virginia State Budget, approved by the General Assembly and the Governor. This language required Richard Bland College to:

"...provide a plan to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by November 1, 2022 on the steps necessary to transition to an innovative model for higher education that prepares citizens for jobs in high-demand fields and in industries critical to the economic development of the Petersburg area, Virginia Gateway Region and Commonwealth of Virginia, to begin implementation in the 2024-25 academic year. Richard Bland College shall work in consultation with the Virginia Secretary of Education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the College of William and Mary, and regional post-secondary and secondary education institutions in the development of this plan."

Our country and our Commonwealth are undergoing an economic transformation. As the global and local economies shift toward a more digital, automated future, the Commonwealth must rethink how to educate, train, and retain talent.

Virginia is doing well relative to other states in its citizens’ attainment of higher education (6th in the Nation); however, jobs remain unfilled, and the labor participation rate has been flat or declining since 2016 (63.8% in 2022). To connect jobs with those who can fill them, we must 1) expand access to historically underrepresented populations and 2) give these workers the skills needed to fill the jobs in high-need areas. Research shows that the rate of Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults with an associate degree or higher is 35.9% and 34.4%, respectively, while that of White adults is 55.6%. Rural populations experience similar discrepancies.

Richard Bland College is uniquely positioned to help fill this gap by delivering skills and credentials to those who will be the workforce of tomorrow. The institution can do this while also continuing to provide 1) opportunities for Virginia students to earn a high-value, two-year associate degree and transfer to one of RBC’s 45 transfer partner schools and 2) dual enrollment opportunities to high school students across Virginia.

Richard Bland is on track to be a nimble, innovative higher education institution that prepares citizens for jobs in high-demand fields and in industries critical to the economic development of the Petersburg area, Virginia Gateway Region, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Some obstacles remain, however, and this report addresses the steps needed to enable Richard Bland to fulfill its potential and become that innovative model for higher education that will serve the changing needs of the employers and workforce of Virginia for decades to come.