Access to Community College Education (ACCE)
2016 NACo Achievement Award Winner
Giles County, Va., VA
Best In Category
About the Program
Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)
Year: 2016
Abstract: Access to Community College Education (ACCE) enables any Giles County Student who graduates from high school, with a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.5, to attend New River Community College with no tuition expense. (Students may be from public, private or home schools.) The student must maintain a 2.5 GPA during college. The student may achieve an Associate Degree, with 60 credit hours paid by ACCE. Students may attend college for two years. In return, the student must provide 80 hours of community service to Giles each year they attend NRCC. Numerous county officials and staff were and/or are significantly involved in the development and implementation of the Giles County ACCE Program. These include the Board of Supervisors, School Board, Giles County Administrator, Superintendent of Schools, School Department Staff, Giles Community Service Coordinator and the Giles Special Projects Coordinator. With the exception of attending a presentation on the Virginia Western Community College, Community College Access Program (CCAP), no other outside technical experts and/or consultants assisted in ACCE. ACCE Program conversation began in 2013. ACCE became operational on August 24th, 2015; the day the first class of ACCE Students began school at New River Community College. An objective of ACCE is to elevate the educational levels of our citizens/workforce. The outcome will be a workforce that is more attractive to present employers. This more qualified workforce will also play a major role in attracting new business to Giles County. The ultimate goal is the development of more moderate-high paying jobs for our citizens leading to a quality of life enhancement impacting all aspects of life. This past January, Giles County was advised by Virginia’s Community Colleges Chancellor Glenn DuBois that we were the recipients of the 2016 Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy on behalf of NRCC.