A. The State Board for Community Colleges heretofore established by law is continued. The Board shall be a corporation under the style of “the State Board for Community Colleges.” The State Board shall be responsible, through the exercise of the powers and performance of the duties set forth in this chapter, for the establishment, control, and administration of a statewide system of publicly supported comprehensive community colleges which shall be known as the Virginia Community College System.

B. The Virginia Community College System shall be the state agency with primary responsibility for coordinating workforce training at the postsecondary to the associate degree level, exclusive of the career and technical education programs provided through and administered by the public school system. This responsibility shall not preclude other agencies from also providing such services as appropriate, but these activities shall be coordinated with the community colleges.

C. In addition to other responsibilities of the Virginia Community College System, the community colleges shall (i) maximize noncredit course offerings made available to business and industry at a time and place that meet current and projected workforce needs and minimize the cost of noncredit offerings to business and industry to the extent feasible, (ii) deal directly with employers in designing and offering courses to meet real, current, and projected workforce training needs, and (iii) maximize the availability and use of distance learning courses addressing workforce training needs. The Virginia Community College System shall report on actions taken to meet the requirements of this subsection in its annual report to the General Assembly on workforce development activities required by the appropriation act.

History

1966, c. 679; 1977, c. 413; 1998, cc. 111, 396; 2001, c. 483; 2002, cc. 586, 625; 2004, c. 146.