RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said he hoped his Higher Education and Workforce Budget would help develop and retain world-class talent in Virginia.
"The biennial budget I will introduce this week will make significant investments in Virginia’s higher education system and steer those institutions toward preparing students to lead in the 21st Century economy. We will also continue to reinvent the workforce system to be more effective and more in touch with the real-world needs of our businesses. Virginia has an opportunity to lead the way on workforce development and this budget is a step in that direction," the governor said.
The higher education and workforce development priorities funded in the Governor’s biennial budget include:
In-State Financial Assistance: enables colleges and universities to better address undergraduate financial need - $48,197,326
Access and Completion: Incentivizes institutions to educate and graduate more in-state students and supports underrepresented students - $50,000,000
Tuition Assistance Grant: Increases the individual undergraduate grant award for students attending independent colleges to $3,400 - $2,000,000
Planning Grant for a Regional Center to Investigate Sexual Violence: Supports a study on creating a Virginia higher education regional center for investigation and adjudication of criminal incidents of sexual and gender-based violence on campuses - $100,000
Online Degree Completion Initiative: Establishes a flexible online degree completion program targeted toward adult learners and nontraditional students - $8,100,000
Virginia Longitudinal Data System: Maintains and enhances capacity of Virginia's longitudinal data system - $2,450,000
Noncredit Workforce Development: Supports workforce credentialing programs at Virginia’s community colleges to increase the number of those receiving certifications in high-demand fields - $24,600,000
Virginia TalentLink: Support the Virginia Jobs Investment Program rebranding.The new program will develop an information portal for businesses to connect with regional resources and talent. Provides access to better data analytics to find, plan and assist in the development of talent pipelines in high-demand occupations and skills. – $932,000
Innovation Fund: Stimulates collaboration among public school divisions, community colleges, and universities to expand affordability through competitively awarded grants - $5,000,000
Two Percent Salary Increase: Provides for a two percent salary increase for Virginia’s higher education faculty and staff, consistent with state employee raises - $25,700,000
Research: Provides one-time incentive packages to high performing researchers as well as establishes centers of excellence where the researchers can collaborate - $40,000,000
The Governor will announce his full, two-year budget before the joint Money Committees on December 17.
