The Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP), launched in 2019, is a historic $1.1 billion, 20-year investment in Virginia’s tech talent pipeline. TTIP was conceived as part of Virginia’s 2018 winning proposal to Amazon for HQ2. Participating institutions have set goals to increase the number of BS and MS graduates in Computer Science and related fields by at least 30,000 over 20 years. Degree goals are equally divided between BS (16,000) and MS (16,000) programs. Thirteen institutions(*1) and the Virginia Community College System participate in TTIP as of FY25.

TTIP is overseen by the Virginia Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the other designated reviewers: the Secretary of Education, the director of the Department of Planning and Budget, the director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the president of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), and the staff directors of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. SCHEV and the Virginia Office of Education Economics (VOEE) provide administrative support.

TTIP provides institutions with three different forms of support: operating expense support, equipment support, and capital support. The program is structured as a performance-based funding model, and institutions’ operating expense awards are contingent upon meeting certain targets. Each participating institution signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and committed to producing a number of new degrees in the fields of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Computer Software Engineering each year. They further specified the percentage of new degrees that would be attributable to growth of the institution (Organic Growth Percentage (OGP)). While the MOUs are clear about both targets, they only include a methodology for adjusting awards for underperformance related to degree production. Reductions for underperformance on Organic Growth are at the discretion of the Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the other designated reviewers.

The two master’s degree TTIP programs also committed to a one-to-one philanthropic match for TTIP funds. By June 30, 2029, the institutions must have raised funds equaling or exceeding all executed (FY20–FY29) and anticipated (FY30–FY39) grant payments. Reductions will be applied for any shortfalls starting with the FY30 grant payments.

Institutions received their first round of operating expense awards in December 2019 (FY20) and are eligible to continue receiving annual awards through FY39. The first three years of TTIP were a grace period, and institutions received their maximum operating expense awards, regardless of performance, in December 2020, 2021, and 2022 (FY21, FY22, and FY23). Awards were first adjusted for performance in FY24. Last year, institutions that failed to produce the target number of new degrees received commensurate reductions to their support, as outlined in their MOUs. The designated reviewers elected not to apply reductions related to Organic Growth for FY24 but committed to revisiting award calculations for FY25.

Between January and August of 2024, an extensive process was undertaken to develop a new methodology for TTIP award calculations, and the designated reviewers unanimously approved a new additive model at the August 26 Op Six meeting. The additive model necessitated updates to the original MOUs; however, several institutions expressed reservations about executing the amendments. As a result, after consulting with the other designated reviewers, the Secretary of Finance decided to implement a reductive model that could be applied within the parameters of the original MOUs.

For FY25, institutions that failed to produce the target number of new degrees received commensurate reductions to their support, as in FY24. Institutions that were not meeting their OGP targets also received reductions. Reductions were determined based on the 15 percent valuation of Reallocated Degrees compared to Organic Degrees, per the MOUs. However, rather than fully adjusting awards to reflect actual Organic Growth, the Secretary elected to apply only 50 percent of the reductions to compensate institutions for any uncertainty about the formula used to calculate OGP reductions.

Despite some institutions’ underperformance, collectively, TTIP programs are far exceeding their overall targets. The bachelor’s degree programs have more than doubled their goal, producing 2,520 new degrees through FY25 compared to a target of 1,155. The two master’s degree programs have produced 1,345 new degrees versus a target of 1,262. For FY25, institutions received a total of $23,651,931 in operating expense support. Over $550 million in operating expense, equipment, and capital funds have been disbursed or allocated since the program began.

The Secretary of Finance and Secretary of Education intend to begin a comprehensive TTIP revision process in the spring of 2025 to ensure that the award methodology and other parameters continue to serve the objectives of the program, the Administration, and the Commonwealth.
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(*1) Radford University elected to withdraw from the program as of fall of 2024.