Military Times ranks TCC best two-year school for vets in Virginia

Tidewater Community College was named the top two-year school in the Commonwealth by Military Times in its Best for Vets: Colleges 2020 rankings.

Best for Vets ranked TCC seventh overall among two-year institutions in the United States and No. 1 in Virginia.

“TCC is honored to be chosen again as a Best for Vets college,” said Batanya Gipson, interim director of TCC’s Center for Military and Veterans Education (CMVE). “Through our CMVE, we continue to work each day to serve the needs of our military-related students. In addition to providing excellent student support services, we work closely with military supportive business, industry and organizations to achieve our mission of facilitating educational and employability success.

Military-focused offerings include:

A partnership between Virginia Natural Gas and TCC for a workforce development initiative that trains veterans and transitioning military to fill the growing need for skilled workers in the natural gas industry. The week-long program, offered at the Virginia Beach Campus, began in 2017.

The Machining Skills Certification, a SkillBridge-approved program that trains military-related students in computer numeric controlled (CNC) machinery from setup to operation. CNC machinists are in demand throughout Hampton Roads and the nation. Military-related students may also use their GI Bill benefits to pay for this program. Contact Chris Blow, project coordinator, at cblow@tcc.edu for information.

Training in truck driving. TCC recently received a fifth grant to train military veterans and their dependents for careers in trucking. Since TCC received its first grant in 2015, 183 veterans and spouses have enrolled in the program. Recipients of the grant pay nothing to complete the one-semester, 16-credit certificate. Classes are taught at the Center for Workforce Solutions on College Drive in northern Suffolk.

Military-related students make up about one-third of TCC’s enrollment. The statistics used for the Bets for Vets survey do not account for dependents.

The rankings are based on the results of Military Times’ annual survey — a comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military student services and rates of academic achievement — as well as a detailed review of public data collected by federal agencies. The survey asks colleges and universities to document a wide array of services, special rules, accommodations and financial incentives offered to students with military ties, and to describe many aspects of veteran culture on a campus.

Counting down TCC’s 2018 milestones

What a year 2018 proved to be for Tidewater Community College, which marked its 50^th anniversary with a number of milestones.

A few highlights: The college celebrated its new footprint in Norfolk’s NEON District with the announcement of a new visual arts, culinary arts and restaurant management center coming in 2021, and it will benefit from a major gift for its hospitality program. Thanks to the generosity of Pat and Doug Perry, the newly named TCC Pat & Douglas Perry Glass Wheel Studio will also expand TCC’s offerings in the NEON District.

There’s more: TCC opened an academy in Portsmouth dedicated to the skilled trades, launched a technical training center for nonviolent offenders and announced plans for major redevelopment at College Point.

Take a look back at our top 10 highlights from a very good year.

10. No wonder vets feel at home at TCC, where about one-third of enrollment is military-related students. Military Times named the college “Best for Vets,” and tops in Virginia among two-year schools. Gov. Ralph Northam visited TCC in March for a Women’s Veteran Roundtable. In the fall, TCC received a fourth federal grant to help veterans transition into trucking careers.

9. TCC welcomed its second class of STEM Promise Program scholars – 19 students who will receive tuition and fees for two years while working toward an associate degree. Our inaugural class of STEM scholars will graduate this spring.

8. Joined by Priority Automotive and the Norfolk Sheriff’s office, TCC opened the Priority Technical Training Center in September, a state-of-the-art facility that offers nonviolent offenders a pathway to good careers after their release.

7. TCC’s Early Childhood Education program earned its own milestone. Last summer, the program achieved first-time accreditation from the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children.

6. Students at the Regional Automotive Center teamed together to finish a project car on behalf of their classmate, Jordan McNair, who died in a fatal automobile accident before graduation. Priority Automotive established a scholarship in his name.

Jordan McNair’s Honda PACT classmates who completed his project car are (standing left-right) Demian Rose, Demetrio Gallegos, Zack Kronske, instructor David Lee, Christian Benner, Dominique Martin and Eric Carmel. Not pictured, Drew Isom.

5. A new partnership between TCC and Old Dominion University allows students to receive credit for knowledge, training and skills achieved in the workplace. TCC’s Associate of Applied Science in Technical Studies with a Specialization in Technical Supervision allows students to earn an associate degree in as little as three semesters.

4. New businesses along with residential and green space will be part of a dynamic new center with stunning water views thanks to the TCC Real Estate Foundation developing what’s been called “the last and best property available in Hampton Roads.” The northern Suffolk site, known as College Point, was TCC’s original home.

3. Sen. Tim Kaine and Rep. Bobby Scott joined TCC President Gregory DeCinque for the dedication of a unique academy in Portsmouth that provides short-term workforce training for in-demand construction and maritime trades. The 20,000-square-foot facility will teach students everything from welding to pipe fitting to marine coating and pipe laying.

2. A seven-figure donation from a Virginia Beach restaurateur will pave the way for the Houston “Hu” Odom Jr. School of Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management in the NEON District. Odom is president and founder of BOTH, Inc., a franchisee of Golden Corral restaurants. His gift will also be used to provide scholarships for students from Norfolk Public Schools who plan careers in restaurant management.

1. TCC made a splash @NEON in a big way! The Patricia & Douglas Perry TCC Center for Visual & Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management will be a jewel and a gamechanger. Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander announced plans for the innovative, 47,000-square-foot center during his State of the City address last spring.

The transformative project will expand TCC’s visual arts program, train the next generation of chefs with a comprehensive culinary arts program, inaugurate a program in restaurant and hospitality management in Norfolk, provide dual-enrollment opportunities for Norfolk high school students and create a wealth of opportunities for collaboration.

See more TCC news.