INSPIRING EXCELLENCE.
STRENGTHENING OUR COMMUNITY.
TRANSFORMING LIVES.
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Welcome!
Dr. Shanon L. Kennedy, President of Rappahannock Community College
Rappahannock Community College has been a part of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula for the past 50 years. We are in the business of inspiring excellence, strengthening communities, and transforming lives. As we celebrate our golden anniversary, we ask that you join us in preparing for the next 50 years.
Students today face unique challenges. In the past, when a student was not successful in a course, we often came to the conclusion that the student “couldn’t hack it” or “wasn’t college material.” In most cases, this is simply not true. How can we expect anyone to learn when they are hungry? And how can they get to class without a ride? We take these basic needs for granted. As part of our 50th Anniversary Campaign, we shine a spotlight on these issues.
Navigating college is difficult for most everyone. Many of our students are the first in their family to attend college and this exacerbates an already difficult process. Intensive advising and coaching can help a student overcome difficulties and life challenges.
RCC is renowned for our incredible nursing program. Because of the quality, the program is in high demand. However, it is difficult to find the requisite number of part-time faculty to fill the gaps. Full-time faculty are necessary to ensure more students can attend and meet the demands of the employers in our region.
Please join me in supporting RCC’s 50th Anniversary Campaign and help us continue to inspire excellence, strengthen communities, and transform lives. — SLK
The 50th Anniversary Campaign is dedicated to RCC students who are our future health care professionals, bankers, trades-people, educators, government leaders, small business owners, and the backbone of our local economy.
RCC students face numerous barriers in their daily lives as they juggle family, work, and school. Our campaign focuses on breaking down those barriers with initiatives that develop students’ skills, confidence, and employability, transforming their lives and the lives of their family members.
Please join us in this important mission by giving to the RCC 50th Anniversary Campaign today.
We know that the poverty level of all 12 counties RCC serves is higher than the national and/or state rates and 11 of the counties have a lower per capita income than both Virginia and the nation. But we also know that a certificate or degree from RCC can lift an individual out of poverty. Columbia University Teachers College reports that earnings increase up to $7,200 a year with an associate degree from a community college.
We see the challenges that our students face to enter and graduate from Rappahannock Community College yet we see opportunities to partner with the community to provide solutions to these challenges.
Contributions to the RCC Educational Foundation help break down the barriers our students face in completing a degree or certificate and improving the quality of life for themselves and their families.
- Donate by credit card
- Donate by check payable to “RCC EFI” and mailed to RCC EFI, PO Box 923, Warsaw, VA 22572. Attn: Brittany Jenkins.
- RCC employees only: Donate through the Payroll Deduction Form
- Donate cash, securities, real estate, personal property materials, equipment, and tangible services. Contact RCC Executive Director, Sarah Pope at spope@rappahannock.edu; 804-333-6705 for more information.
- Interested in establishing a student scholarship? Go to scholarship information page
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Why do some RCC students struggle to cross the college finish line?
83% attend college part-time and juggle work and family responsibilities as well as school. Navigating college for the 28% of students whose parents have never taken a college-level course is difficult.
A 2019 survey of 632 enrolled students provides sobering insights about basic needs:
24% of students said that they have worried food will run out before they have money to buy more.
13% indicated they or others in their households have not eaten because there is not enough money for food.
14% have missed a class because of lack of transportation.
06% live in unstable housing.
03% indicate they live in an unsafe environment.
RCC’s Nursing Program Strengthens Communities
RCC administers the only nursing program in the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck. Graduating more nurses into the workforce strengthens access to comprehensive, quality health care services in our rural area and provides job opportunities for students.
Nurses and aides from RCC’s program go directly into acute and long term health facilities. If you’ve recently been in a local doctor’s office, hospital, or assisted living facility, chances are you’ve been served by an RCC graduate. However, the demand for health care workers outpaces what our program can graduate:
• RCC’s service area contains the four most aged counties in the Commonwealth. Facilities serving the older population are expanding in the region and need certified heath care workers.
• The US Department of Health & Human Services identifies all 12 counties in RCC’s service region as Medically Underserved Area–geographic areas with a lack of access to primary care services.
• The Department also predicts a 46% increase by 2030 in the number of nurses needed in Virginia to meet health care demands.
• There is a high demand for nurses in the service region’s hospital systems–Riverside, Bon Secours, Sentara, and Mary Washington.
Our flagship program produces extraordinary nurses
The RCC nursing program graduated 313 students between 2014 and 2018 and an average of 95% of students passed their license examination on the first attempt. This statistic makes RCC one of the top-rated nursing programs in the state.
Sara Snead
RCC nursing graduate:
“Don’t doubt yourself because you can do it. And always keep your mind open to a community college. RCC has the number one college-based nursing program in Virginia.”
