The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) advocates and promotes the development and operation of an educationally and economically sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education and leads state-level strategic planning and policy development and implementation based on research and analysis.

The Council and its staff fulfill this mission by:

• Leading state-level strategic planning and policy development that promotes greater access, quality, affordability and accountability.


• Implementing policy and programs based on research and analysis.


• Facilitating collaboration among institutions of higher education that enhances quality, advances educational excellence and creates operational efficiencies.


• Recommending higher education policies and funding to the Governor and General Assembly that support our mission.


• Communicating openly, honestly and effectively to the public.

The State Council of Higher Education enhances Virginia's already-robust and vigorous higher education system by bringing the institutions together to collectively and collaboratively serve the goals, needs, and interests of the Commonwealth in a way that recognizes, utilizes, and maximizes the distinctive mission of each college and university. SCHEV is committed to ensuring that each institution performs at the highest possible level in terms of quality of instruction and service to students, while fostering an environment of innovative contributions to Virginians' economic and cultural prosperity through research and public service.

SCHEV aspires to be a great place to work. Values are the principles and ideals that help us make judgments about what is most important. As leaders and employees of the Commonwealth and SCHEV, we abide by the Commonwealth’s Standards of Conduct for Employees and related policies and procedures as a starting place. Beyond that, SCHEV values honesty, quality, diversity, inclusion, growth-orientation, personal well-being, equity, transparency and accountability. To enact these values we are guided in our actions and decision-making by the following commitments:

• We fulfill all professional duties with honesty and integrity.


• We maintain a high standard of quality in our work and we embrace opportunities to improve.


• We recruit, hire, support and advance a diverse spectrum of individuals.


• We create a welcoming and inclusive environment where we celebrate the value and contributions of each person.


• We foster a culture that encourages growth through professional development, career pathways and collaboration.


• We encourage and support staff in maintaining a healthy and balanced life.


• We act equitably and work to remedy inequitable situations.


• We live and practice these values with transparency and accountability.

Through these values, we create a welcoming work environment that represents the best of who we are as an agency and as individuals.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) is the Commonwealth's coordinating body for higher (postsecondary) education. Its statutory mission is "to advocate and promote the development and operation of an educationally and economically sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia and to lead state-level strategic planning and policy development and implementation based on research and analysis." The Council is a public body comprised of 13 gubernatorial appointees, including at least one former public college/university president, one school superintendent at the state or local level and the president of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, who serves as an ex officio voting member.  The Council' staff, employees of the state agency known as SCHEV, assist in fulfilling the Council's mission.  Together the Council and SCHEV staff seek to be catalysts for greater access, affordability, quality, and accountability throughout Virginia’s excellent system of public and private colleges and universities.

The future direction of the agency will be charted largely by the priorities of the 13-member SCHEV Council, the goals of the statewide strategic plan (Pathways to Opportunity), and evolving statutory responsibilities. 

At this time, agency staff are not aware of any external factors, requirements or mandates that will necessitate non-routine IT investments in the foreseeable future.

In recent years, expanding workloads and expectations have outpaced growth in the number of SCHEV's approved staff positions. Some approved positions remain vacant due to a combination of funding issues and labor-market conditions/competition. Retirements may become an issue for the relatively small agency over the next few years.  To address current and potential workforce issues, the agency is:  (a) continuing efforts to improve the knowledge, skills, and abilities of current staff through tuition-assistance programs and other professional development opportunities; and (b) continuing to seek maximum alignment between current staff and the future needs of the higher education system.

Office space is leased on the 9th and 10th floors of the James Monroe Building adjacent to Capitol Square in Richmond, which provides SCHEV with area, functionality, and accessibility that are adequate for its needs.

The key risk factors most likely to impact the agency over the next few years are related to workload, staffing, and to the interplay of the two.  The number and complexity of the agency's legislatively-mandated responsibilities expanded in recent years, often without a corresponding increase in staffing.  While the agency's full-time workforce has grown only marginally since January 2012, the occupants of these positions increasingly are new to the agency and/or state service. The agancy also is experiencing the same post-pandemic challenges in recruiting and hiring that are common across employers.  As a result, the SCHEV Council and its staff continue to explore ways to focus agency human and fiscal resources more strategically in an effort to mitigate current and future risks.  The statewide strategic plan, Pathways to Opportunity, serves as a guide for this strategic re-focusing.

The State Council of Higher Education (SCHEV) has a total budget in FY2023 of approximately $157 million (92.0 percent from the general fund).  



The majority of the general fund monies in SCHEV's budget actually flow through the agency as direct student financial assistance -- about $126.1 million in FY2023. In 2022-23, the New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program will receive an allocation of $13.5 million, and $2.5 million is designated to supplement in-state student financial assistance at Norfolk State University and Virginia State University. The largest student-assistance program is the Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) program, which will receive $90.8 million in FY2023.

Of SCHEV's $157 million FY2023 budget total, only about $8.9 million (5.7 percent) goes to support agency operations (staff salaries and fringe benefits, supplies and materials, contractual services, equipment, travel, rent, etc.).

SCHEV regulates proprietary and out-of-state postsecondary entities.  This statutorily-mandated oversight is conducted as a self-supporting, fee-based operation funded through the fees that entities pay in the initial certification-to-operate process and annually thereafter.  These fees are approximately $950,000 in FY2013.  The agency also receives a restricted donation of $100,000 annually from the Dominion Foundation to support the Virginia Outstanding Faculty Awards program.  SCHEV also administers multiple federal grants.  As described above, the majority of agency funds designated as revenues are dedicated/restricted for specific uses and cannot be expended for other purposes.

The following statistics provide insight into the variety and magnitude of agency activities in academic year 2022-23.  

No changes to the agency's customer base are anticipated in FY2023.

As a coordinating body, SCHEV serves as a reliable source of accurate data, objective information, and policy expertise to elected and appointed officials, students, families, colleges and universities, media, and the public.   SCHEV’s statutory authorities and responsibilities include:

• Development of a statewide strategic plan for higher education at least every six years (the current plan, Pathways to Opportunity, was approved in fall 2020);


• Policy guidance and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly regarding capital and operating budget planning, faculty salaries, college/university equipment and technology needs, performance and innovation incentive funding, and financial aid;


• Certification of public institutions’ performance on various education-related state goals and measures;


• Oversight of the Commonwealth’s need-based and non-need-based student financial aid programs;


• Approval of various academic matters at public colleges/universities, such as new mission statements, degree levels, degree programs, and certain organizational changes;


• Review and potential discontinuance of public-institution degree programs deemed to be unproductive and/or unnecessarily duplicative;


• Review and approval of public and private institutions’ enrollment projections and degree estimates;


• Administration of the Virginia Longitudinal Data System;


• Provision of educational training programs for new appointees to public institutions' governing boards;


• Provision of advisory services to private, nonprofit institutions;


• Regulation of proprietary and out-of-state postsecondary entities that seek to begin or continue operating in Virginia; and


• Administration of various federal grants; and


• Administration of the Innovative Internship Fund and Program, also known as VTOP (Virginia Talent + Opportunity Partnership)..

The SCHEV Council and its staff perform excellently their responsibilities for: (a) developing calculations and recommendations regarding significant components of the higher education system; and (b) transmitting this mandated information in a useful and timely manner to the Governor and General Assembly.  The agency performs similarly well in its responsibilities to project accurately future student enrollment and degree production and to advocate for funds for student financial aid and assistance.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia's primary mission is to promote the continuous improvement of the Commonwealth's nationally recognized higher education system through state-level strategic planning, coordination and collaboration that recognize the individual missions of the institutions while reflecting and meeting the needs and goals of the Commonwealth as a whole. Virginia statute clearly defines the educational goals and objectives that SCHEV and the public institutions must address, and SCHEV's new state-wide strategic plan articulates broad goals and strategies for the system and the Commonwealth. Many of the duties and activities inherent in this goal are codified in Virginia law. This goal is consistent with SCHEV’s mission to promote the development and operation of a sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education. Ultimately, the responsibility for planning and execution of these duties and responsibilities rests with the Council, which is comprised of 13 members appointed by the Governor. The Council hires a director for the state agency known as SCHEV, which carries out the Council's directives and its mandated activities.

This objective promotes strategic management through SCHEV’s leadership of key constituencies, thereby creating a comprehensive strategic plan for Virginia’s higher education system that harnesses multiple resources and that: 1) meets student needs and the Commonwealth’s vital interests; 2) promotes the effective coordination of systemwide and institutional academic, financial, and enrollment plans; and 3) serves as a catalyst for policy implementation and collaboration.

In Fall 2020 SCHEV staff produced and the Council approved a new statewide strategic plan, Pathways to Opportunity: The Virginia Plan for Higher Education. The plan sets three goals: 1) equitable; 2) affordable; and 3) transformative. Additional information on the statewide strategic plan is available at: https://www.schev.edu/research-publications/strategic-plan.

• Develop the statewide strategic plan for Virginia higher education, including goals, strategies, initiatives and performance targets and measures, and then monitor progress toward achievement of the plan's goals.

SCHEV strives to advocate the interests of Virginia higher education by: 1) communicating higher education interests through research-based reports, public briefings and hearings, and electronic and other communication devices; 2) preparing and presenting testimony on pending legislation affecting higher education, particularly regarding SCHEV priorities (e.g., access, affordability, transfer and articulation, research, etc.) that results in adoption or rejection of advocacy principles; and 3) developing empirically-based resource allocation models to determine the adequacy of the existing funding structure of higher education in Virginia (e.g., base operating adequacy, faculty salary benchmarks, capital outlay space needs assessment, etc.). Further, SCHEV advocates the interest of Virginia higher education by presenting formal funding recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly based on the results of these models.

• Develop the roadmap and funding model to support policies established in the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011 in order to enable the Governor and the General Assembly to base the biennial budget on the new funding model and policies, thereby aligning ongoing higher education investment with the reform and innovation objectives of statute.

SCHEV staff coordinates the production, submission and review of public institutions' six-year plans, which the Code of Virginia requires the institutions' boards to develop and adopt in odd-numbered years and to affirm or amend in even-numbered years. Traditionally, these plans include information on planned: (i) academic initiatives (and associated costs); (ii) increases in tuitions and fees (and estimates of non-general fund revenues); and (iii) allocations of student financial aid (including any allocation of tuition revenue thereto); as well as reports of past-year information on research expenditures and intellectual property.

• Develop, in collaboration with the group of state officials designated statutorily as reviewers of public institutions' six-year plans, the template for these plans; distribute the template to the institutions and respond to their questions; receive the plans; distribute the submitted plans to the reviewers; schedule meetings between the reviewers and each institution; facilitate/lead each meeting and produce reviewers' feedback in written form; submit this feedback to each institution; receive institutions' responses to the feedback and any updates or amendments to the plans; and communicate these updates, amendments or the lack thereof to the reviewers.

SCHEV strives to effectively and efficiently regulate: (1) all for-profit postsecondary entities; (2) all new non-profit postsecondary entities; and (3) all out-of-state postsecondary entities that seek to operate (initially and continually) in the Commonwealth.

• Review non-public postsecondary educational entities' initial and continued eligibility to operate in the Commonwealth.

SCHEV is committed to supporting the investment of higher education funds so as to maximize the benefits of financial resources for all students seeking postsecondary education. In addition, SCHEV supports policies that optimize the effective use of financial resources to minimize costs to students.

SCHEV strives to maximize access and affordability through: (a) administration of need-based and nonneed-based financial aid programs; and (b) identification of and reporting on the impacts of educational-costs increases on student financial need.

• Advocate for increased allocations to support needy students in Virginia's public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education.

Through administration of the Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) program, SCHEV strives to ensure that financial aid provides Virginia's students with the ability to consider private institutions.

• Advocate for increased allocations to support larger per-student awards for qualifying Virginia residents attending eligible private, nonprofit institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth.

Through administration of appropriations for "regional financial assistance for education," SCHEV strives to assist students who: (a) attend colleges of optometry; and (b) participate in the Stephen J. Wright Scholars Program of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), which is a scholarship program for minority students pursuing doctoral degrees.

• Award all available funds to eligible students.

SCHEV collaborates with public and private institutions of higher education to develop enrollment projections and estimates for credential awards (degrees and non-degree workforce credentials). The agency also assists institutions with efforts to improve students' educational attainment and workforce readiness, and it reports on progress toward relevant goals set by the Governor and General Assembly.

SCHEV strives to develop system capacity by producing college and university enrollment projections, degree estimates, non-degree workforce credential estimates and economic-opportunity scorecards that are consistent with institutional six-year plans, performance measure responses and the goals of the Governor and General Assembly.

• Develop and administer processes that enable institutions of higher education to communicate their projections and estimates to SCHEV and state policymakers in ways that are timely and conducive to executive- and legislative-branch planning and resource-allocation decisions.

The purpose of the GEAR UP program is to increase the awareness and readiness of low-income school childhood for postsecondary education and training. This goal is consistent with SCHEV’s mission to promote the development and operation of an educationally and economically sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education.

The purpose of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Title II, Part A, Improving Teacher Quality State Grants," is to increase the academic achievement of all students by helping schools and school districts improve teacher and principal quality and ensure that all teachers are highly qualified. SCHEV is responsible for competitively administering federal grants to institutions of higher education that partner with local school districts to support this purpose.

SCHEV strives to efficiently administer two federal grant programs: 1) the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant, which seeks to increase the awareness and readiness of low-income school childhood for postsecondary education and training; and 2) the Title II, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act grant, which seeks to improve the quality of teachers and principals in grantee-selected schools.

• Ensure that federal funds are expended efficiently and in accordance with all state and federal requirements.

SCHEV strives to maximize productivity through the efficient and effective use of resources in the administration of the agency’s budget and finance functions, while adhering to all applicable state laws and regulations.

SCHEV strives to be efficient and effective in its use of resources in the administration of the agency’s budget and finance, human relations, and facilities management functions.

• Enhance the productivity and efficiency of state government operations.

Activities in this service area are designed to ensure that state need-based student aid mitigates the financial barriers faced by Virginia’s neediest students and families, and to ensure that the projections for student financial need at public institutions are accurate. This service area also includes the administration of several non-need-based financial assistance programs as required by law.

Student financial aid and assistance are key components of the mission of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to develop and maintain an economically sound system of higher education.

The Code of Virginia (COV) assigns responsibility to SCHEV for administration of the state's student financial aid and assistance programs throughout Articles 1-7 (§ 23.1-600 -- § 23.1-642) of Chapter 6 of Title 23.1.

SCHEV administers numerous programs that provide student financial aid and assistance on behalf of the Commonwealth.  The largest of these programs include:

• Tuition Assistance Grant (TAG) Program


• Two-Year College Transfer Grant Program


• New Economy Workforce Credential Grant Program


• Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program


• Virginia Space Grant Consortium Scholarships


• Cybersecurity Public Service Grant Program


• Grow Your Own Teacher Scholarship (pilot) Program

For Virginia's various student-aid programs, the Commonwealth allocated $120.7 million GF in FY2023, which is the highest amount ever provided for student financial assistance.

Activities in this service area are designed to provide financial assistance to qualified in-state students for their participation in two programs offered by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).  The first program, the Stephen J. Wright Scholars Program, fosters scholarship among the Commonwealth's graduate students, particularly minority students in doctoral-degree programs, and seeks to retain them as faculty at Virginia colleges and universities following graduation.  The second program provides grants to assist Virginia residents in studying optometry, which is not offered by any Virginia public universities, at universities in the SREB region. Optometry-grant recipients must agree to practice optometry in the Commonwealth for at least two years following graduation.

Student financial assistance is a key component of the mission of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to develop and maintain an economically sound system of higher education.

The Code of Virginia (COV) assigns responsibility to SCHEV for administration of the Stephen J. Wright Scholars Program for minority doctoral students in § 23.1-616.  The state budget assigns responsibility to SCHEV for administration of the optometry-grants program in Item 141.C.3 and for the Wright Scholars program in Item 141.E.

Student Financial Assistance

In each year of the biennium, $170,000 is designated to support Virginia's participation in the Stephen J. Wright Scholars Program, which is the Commonwealth's affiliate of the SREB Doctoral Scholars Program; both programs seek to increase the number of minority doctoral students and to encourage them become faculty members in their home states following graduation.

An additional $20,000 is designated in each year of the biennium for grants of up to $5,000 per year to assist Virginia residents in pursuing optometry degrees at participating southern-region universities through the SREB Academic Common Market, because no Virginia universities offer optometry.

Activiities in this service area enhance the visibility of Virginia's outstanding faculty and improves their morale.

The Virginia Outstanding Faculty Awards (OFA) were created in 1986 and remain the only state-level faculty-recognition program in the nation.  The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) administers the nomination-review and recipient-selection process each year.  The OFA ceremony, luncheon and awards are underwritten by the Dominion Foundation.  The Governor participates in bestowing the awards on the 13 recipients each February.

Each public or private institution of higher education headquartered in Virginia may nominate at least one faculty member for these awards each fall; the maximum number of nominees per institution is determined by its size.  Nominees are assessed on their teaching, research and public service.  About 100 nominations are received each year and overgo a two-part process in which, first, all nominees are reviewed by panels of peer-experts in their fields, and then those scoring highest are reviewed by a final selection committee of state academic, business and community leaders.

By recognizing annually Virginia's outstanding postsecondary faculty, at no cost to the taxpayer, SCHEV improves the morale among our educators, thereby providing a positive workplace environment on the Commonwealth's campuses and fulfilling SCHEV's mission to promote the development and operation of an educationally and operationally sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education.

The Appropriation Act, in Item 142, assigns responsibility to SCHEV to select annually the recipients of the Outstanding Faculty Recognition Awards from public and private institutions of higher education and to provide the selected honorees with grants from the private funds designated for these purposes.

SCHEV typically bestows 13 awards each year; however, the number is dependent on the amount of private funding available.  At least one award is conveyed each year to an early-career Rising Star.  Each award consists of a plaque or trophy and a check, usually in the amount of $5,000.  Recipients and their families attend a ceremony and luncheon in Richmond.

The Virginia Outstanding Faculty Awards program is funded entirely from private contributions.  The Dominion Foundation has been the source of these private funds since 2005.

Activities in this service area encompass the various roles and duties that the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) fulfills in its capacity as the Commonwealth's academic, fiscal, and facility planning and coordinating agency for Virginia postsecondary education.

As set forth in the Code of Virginia, this service area is the cornerstone of SCHEV's mission to "advocate and promote the development and operation of an educationally and economically sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia and to lead state-level strategic planning and policy development and implementation based on research and analysis …. The Council shall also seek to facilitate collaboration among institutions of higher education that will enhance quality and create operational efficiencies and shall work with institutions of higher education and their boards on board development.”

The Code of Virginia (COV) assigns responsibility to SCHEV for coordination, review and planning of higher education in multiple statutes, including:

§ 23.1-203 -- Duties of Council (30 responsibilities are enumerated, including mulitple duties related to academic programs, policies and organizational units at public colleges and universities)

§ 23.1-204 -- Post-graduation employment rates

§ 23.1-206 -- Assessment of performance of public institutions

§ 23.1-208 -- Budget requests and recommendations

§ 23.1-209 -- Reports of expenditures of state funds

§ 23.1-310 -- Assessment and certification of institutions by the Council

§ 23.1-1304 -- Governing boards; additional duties; educational programs

§ 23.1-3133 -- Assist the Virginia Research Investment Committee (VRIC) with awards from the Virginia Research Investment Fund (VRIF)

To fulfill its mission, SCHEV makes higher education public policy recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly in such areas as capital and operating budget planning, enrollment projections, institutional technology needs, and student financial aid. SCHEV considers proposals from public colleges and universities an various academic and organizational matters, and it administers a variety of educational programs that benefit students, faculty, parents, and taxpayers. SCHEV serves as a catalyst to promote greater access, quality, affordability, and accountability throughout the system. SCHEV also helps policymakers, college administrators, and other concerned leaders work cooperatively and constructively to advance educational excellence.

Pathways to Opportunity: The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, developed by SCHEV in 2020 as the strategic plan for postsecondary education in the Commonwealth, posits three broad goals with an overarching target of making Virginia the best state for education.  The plan is accessible at www.schev.edu/research-publications/strategic-plan.

In FY2023, SCHEV is appropriated $11.9 million for its statutory efforts in higher education coordination and review,including funds specifically for the Virginia Longitudinal Data System, enhanced consumer information and the student-loan ombuds function.

Activiities in this service area seek to advance postsecondary education (non-public) in the Commonwealth and to ensure consumer protection of our citizens through the regulation of private and out-of-state institutions.

By monitoring the legitimacy and viability of some non-profit and all for-profit and out-of-state institutions operating in Virginia, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) expands the educational opportunities for all citizens of the Commonwealth. This activity is a major component of SCHEV's goal to maximize higher education access and affordability.

The Code of Virginia (COV) assigns responsibility to SCHEV for the regulation of certain private and out-of-state postsecondary-education entities in Article 3 (§ 23.1-213 -- § 23.1-230) of Chapter 2 of Title 23.1.  The Virginia Administrative Code (VAC) articulates the regulations and fee structures to be enforced by SCHEV in 8 VAC 40-31-260.

For educational entities required by statute to be certified to operate in Virginia, SCHEV reviews and approves or disapproves each entity's application for a Certificate to Operate; SCHEV reviews and renews or denies renewal of these Certificates to Operate annually; and SCHEV issues suspensions or revocations of Certificates to Operate based on the findings of both scheduled and unannounced audits of certified entities.  SCHEV also maintains a Student Tuition Guarantee Fund to ensure that students can recoup some of their tuition if their institution closes unexpectedly, as well as a repository of student records from educational entities that have closed.  SCHEV responds to complaints received in writing about all public and private postsecondary entities in the Commonwealth.

Per statute (§ 23.1-224), SCHEV's work in this service area is supported completely by nongeneral funds in the form of fees assessed to the 100+ degree-granting institutions and 130+ career and technical schools that operate in the Commonwealth.  As articulated in the Virginia Administrative Code (8 VAC 40-31-260), the initial fee for a new career/technical school is $2,500; for a new degree-granting school, $6,000.  Renewal fees vary according to each entity's prior-year tuition and fee amounts, and are either $250, $1,000, $2,500, $4,000 or $5,000.  Also, entities that have not yet secured accreditation from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education are assessed an additional annual fee -- $2,500 for unaccredited career/technical schools and $6,000 for unaccredited degree-granting institutions.  Additional fees may be charged for various other services as permited and delineated in the regulations.  In addition to funding SCHEV's expenses in regulating these certified entities, the fees also fund a Student Tuition Guarantee Fund, which is used to reimburse some or all of students' tuitions when their institutions close unexpectedly.  The state budget allocates $190,000 in each year of the biennium for this Fund.

Activities in this service area support the work of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to coordinate federal programs on behalf of the Commonwealth.  Specifically, this service area involves administration of the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program (which is part of Title II, Part A of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001).  The purpose of these grants is to increase the academic achievement of all students by helping secondary schools and school districts improve teacher and principal quality and ensure that all teachers are highly qualified. SCHEV awards these grants to institutions of higher education that partner with local school districts to support this purpose.

Via this federal grant program, SCHEV assists in improving secondary-school teacher and principal quality, which improves the preparation that Virginia youth receive for postsecondary education. Therefore, students can achieve more, and fewer public resources are expended on remedial education, which renders the higher-education system more educationally and economically sound.  This outcome is consistent with SCHEV’s mission to promote the development and operation of an educationally and economically sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education.

The Code of Virginia (COV) assigns SCHEV responsibility to carry out federal requirements in § 23.1-205.

Each year, SCHEV may award up to 10 professional-development projects proposed by institutions of higher education with secondary schools or school systems; the maximum award is $250,000.  In most years, seven or eight awards are made on a competitive basis, usually in the $50,000-$200,000 range.

SCHEV is authorized to award new grants and to continue existing grants to improve K-12 teacher quality using nongeneral funds (in this case, federal funds) up to $2.44 million in each year of the biennium.

Activities in this service area also support the work of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV)to coordinate federal programs on behalf of the Commonwealth.  Specifically, this service area involves administration of the federal GEAR UP grant and scholarship program.  The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undegraduate Programs (GEAR UP) program is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education to help cohorts of students who attended low-income school districts to learn about and prepare for postsecondary education and/or training.  

The goals of GEAR UP Virginia (GUV) are to: 1) increase the academic performance and college preparation of GUV students; 2) increase the number of students in rigorous courses; 3) increase knowledge of college and financial aid among students and their families; 4) improve college readiness rates; and 5) increase college enrollment rates.  

By increasing the rate at which students from low-income families who attend participating Virginia middle schools persist through high-school graduation and enroll in college, SCHEV is furthering the progressiveness of Virginia’s system of higher education, which is a component of the agency’s mission. The GEAR UP program also contributes to the agency’s goals of promoting access to and preparation for postsecondary opportunities for Virginia’s youth.

The Code of Virginia (COV) assigns responsibility to SCHEV to carry out federal requirements in § 23.1-205.

GUV services include: 1) tutoring and mentoring; 2) summer programs to promote transition to high school and, later, transition to college; 3) professional development for teachers in core academic areas; 4) college and financial aid awareness workshops for students/parents; 5) visits to a variety of colleges; 6) counseling and advising related to college and career; 7) academic services in high school so that students do not need remediation in college; and 8) outreach to help high school graduates as they transition to postsecondary education.

Through the GEAR UP Scholarship program, GUV students are eligible to receive a one-time award of up to $2,000 and no less than $600 for one term, depending on their college enrollment level (full-time, three-quarter-time, half-time, and less than half-time).

SCHEV is authorized to expend up to $3 million in nongeneral funds (in this case, federal funds) in each year of the biennium to support the Commonwealth's efforts (in-school and after-school programs and scholarships) to increase students' college enrollment and success and to transform the lives of low-income families and their communities via this program. 

Activities in this service area support the efforts of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), as the Commonwealth's statutory authorizing body for these purposes, to enter into interstate reciprosity agreements that ensure that Virginia institutions of higher education providing distance education in other states, as well as non-Virginia institutions providing distance learning in the Commonwealth, do so in compliance with federal requirements.

The U.S. Department of Education requires institutions of higher education that provide distance learning in states other than their home state to seek and receive an authorization to operate from each of these other states.  To manage their authoritization processes, most states have entered into interstate reciprosity agreements whereby authorizations are granted state-by-state rather than institution-by-institution. SCHEV is the authorizing body for the Commonwealth and coordinates and administers the Virginia State Authorization Reciprosity Agreement (V-SARA) through the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the National Council on State Authorization Reciprosity Agreements (NC-SARA).  Virginia institutions pay fees, based on their enrollments, for their authorization by SCHEV.

This activity aligns with SCHEV's mission to promote the operation of an economically sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education by minimizing the resources (financial, human and time) that otherwise would be expended by Virginia's institutions of higher education in each's individual pursuit of authorization from all the other states in which it operates, as well as the public resources SCHEV would otherwise expend in considering individual authorization requests from each of the many non-Virginia institutions that operate here.  The activity also provides enhanced quality assurance and consumer protection to Virginia residents who enroll in distance-learning programs from other member-states’ institutions.

The Code of Virginia (COV) assigns responsibility to SCHEV for developing and entering into interstate reciprocity agreements for distance education in § 23.1-211.

The major services provided by SCHEV in this area are:  1) approval of Virginia institutions to participate in the Virginia State Authorization Reciprosity Agreement (V-SARA); 2) maintenance of the V-SARA; and 3) coordination of Virginia's eligibility for and participation in the National Council on State Authorization Reciprosity Agreements (NC-SARA).

SCHEV's costs for coordinating and administering this service area are covered completely by nongeneral funds in the form of fees assessed to authorized Virginia institutions.  These fees are based on authorized institutions' enrollments:  $1,000 for those with fewer than 2,500 full-time-equivalent (FTE) students; $2,000 for those with 2,500-9,999 FTE students; and $3,000 for those with 10,000 or more FTE students.  SCHEV may expend up to $100,000 of these nongeneral funds in each year of the biennium to support these distance-learning reciprocity activities.