The story below is from our July/August 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Roanoke still doesn’t have its own state-supported college or university. It has a bunch of them.
The often under-appreciated and occasionally misunderstood Roanoke Higher Education Center has been quietly working its way into the Star City’s educational milieu for some years now. It is slowly, certainly taking hold like an orangutang swinging through the jungle: sure, stable, confident and with considerable purpose.
The Higher Ed Center’s initial calling was to establish a stronghold for state-supported higher education in the largest locality in Virginia minus that important offering. It brought in programs from as many as 20 institutions, colleges and universities across Virginia (it is at 12 now) with a broad array of degree offerings, combining live classrooms with distance learning and making itself available to entire families across Roanoke.
The colleges’ degree programs cover a wide spectrum of certifications and degrees, as well as decidedly popular testing programs. Workers wanting to pick up those certifications, additional classes in their work professions or college degrees can earn any or all of that on a schedule that is convenient and fits the students’ needs.
Popular programs by current member schools include massage therapy (Dabney Lancaster Community College), educational leadership (JMU), adult degree completion (Mary Baldwin), all on-line certifications and degrees (ODU), nursing (Radford), doctor of nurse anesthesia practice (VCU), counselor education (Virginia Tech), culinary arts (Virginia Western), and courses to be decided by new member Virginia State. GED preparation and workforce readiness are also offered by TAP and Region 5 Adult Education.
Since Kay Dunkley took over as executive director of the HEC in 2017, there has been a special emphasis on fund-raising and in August of last year, Kaitlyn Van Buskirk was hired as HEC’s first development officer with the idea that “what the state can’t provide, the HEC Foundation can,” she says.
Dan Smith
Kay Dunkley, Kaitlyn Van Buskirk and Carla James are the central figures at the Roanoke Higher Education Center, producing a significant number of annual graduates.
The relatively new Higher Ed Center Foundation has steadily built strength and added financial security to the center. Among other offerings, it now has a built-in $50,000 scholarship fund, and $250,000 outlays for both its career center and its innovation fund.
Last year the HEC had 799 people complete programs and either offered or facilitated 200 programs of study. There were 179 degrees awarded in 2021. In fiscal year 2019 (just before COVID-19 hit hard) the economic impact of HEC on the Valley was $8.4 million and graduates added an estimated $6 million to the local economy.
The number of institutions taking part in the HEC has fluctuated over the years, depending on demand. The addition of Virginia State University, an HBCU offering, has solidified minority representation.
A couple institutions have dropped out because of duplicate offerings says Van Buskirk that “were so close they may not have seemed to benefit” students. Still, it is the convenience that remains a powerful draw. “Adults like to take classes when” they are convenient, says Dunkley. She strongly defends online offerings: “Let us not forget that interaction in class is important, but we hope for a hybrid.”
“Online work is a beauty for some,” says Director of Academic and Student Services Carla James, who received her PhD through a program at HEC. “We want to give students a choice.”
Courtesy of Virginia Western Community College
A student in the culinary arts salon takes care in composing his (delicious) studies.
Software architect Christopher Fury, 49, says, “I got my master’s in information technology from Virginia Tech using an online program. Our exams were proctored, meaning that I had to have someone administer and watch over the testing to make sure that things were on the up-and-up. Occasionally, my manager would allow me to take the test in a shared space with him in the room, but several times I went to the HEC to have my test proctored there. It was far handier and more useful than having to travel all the way to Blacksburg to take a test on that campus.”
Salvatore D’Angelo, a 32-year-old eighth-grade teacher with his eyes on being a principal, says, “This versatility helps the program serve as many individuals as possible who decide to pursue this path. I already have my master’s in education, but this program offers that degree in tandem with the Educational Leadership Certification.”
The beautiful former Norfolk & Western art deco building that houses the HEC has recently seen the addition of a student lounge, break room and courtyard improvements. The culinary arts program in a nearby building has been so wildly popular that most of its students are hired before finishing the program, then sent back to school to finish (at the employer’s expense), says Virginia Western President Bobby Sandel.
The new Student Success Center, says James, offers support—including free tutoring—for HEC students. That tutoring is also offered to the public for a fee. There is also Virginia Tech’s Think a Bit Lab for “making things” that middle schoolers are attracted to. She says “very young learners” study coding at the HEC.
Most of the HEC’s offerings lead to jobs or improvement of job status with additional degrees or certificates, says Dunkley. The programs range wide: warehouse logistics, school executive training, nursing, local government management, counseling, medical assistant and many more. Van Buskirk says the center “connects graduates with the workforce.”
Primarily because of some solid lobbying and an admirable success rate, says Dunkley, “The Virginia General Assembly has been good to us.” State Senator John Edwards, one of those largely responsible for the creation of the HEC, says, “Our initial idea was to half fill the old Norfolk and Western building [with students], but we filled it up from the beginning. The future is to move toward workforce training with fewer people going to college for a bachelor’s degree. We got what we envisioned, and more.”
Dan Smith
Salvatore D’Angelo: “This versatility helps the program serve as many individuals as possible who decide to pursue this path.”
The HEC education is not without an occasional glitch. Says 37-year-old Roanoke Commissioner of the Revenue Ryan LaFountain, “The quality of the internet connection during class sessions was often bad, impeding the ability to participate in class when we needed to perform routine items, such as downloading files for class.”
LaFountain, who earned his MBA, says, “The RHEC seems to be an underused and underappreciated asset that could, with proper investment, further develop Roanoke and the Roanoke Valley as a center for higher education.”
D’Angelo is a bit more enthusiastic: “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be taking these classes at the Higher Education Center. The staff is helpful and does a fantastic job of cleaning and sanitizing the building day to day. Even during the height of the pandemic, I still felt comfortable attending classes in person. The HEC was transparent in keeping all individuals informed when a positive case was reported. This peace of mind along with the availability of educational technology, private study areas and a sense of community, truly makes the Roanoke Higher Education Center a great place to learn and grow.”
The story above is from our July/August 2022. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!