Tidewater Community College in Hampton Roads, Virginia

On February 24^th, President Barack Obama asked every American to complete at least one year of school beyond High School. His plan is to create the most highly skilled population in the world. He specifically mentioned community college as an option and you could not do better in the Hampton Roads Virginia area than Tidewater Community College, better known as TCC.

TCC was founded in 1968 on a small piece of land overlooking the Hampton Roads harbor. From that humble start TCC has now grown to four campuses located in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth Virginia. In addition the TCC campuses also include the state-of-the-art Advanced Technology Center in Virginia Beach,VA, a new Automotive training center in Chesapeake, an historic theater in Norfolk and the Visual Arts Center in Portsmouth.

The Visual Arts Center, located in historic Old Town Portsmouth Virginia, has classrooms, studio space and an art gallery that features the works of both students and regional artists. The VAC also hosts the only academic glass blowing program in southern Virginia. Instructors and students from this program will be partnering with the Chrysler Museum of art in Norfolk Virginia for demonstrations of that ancient art during the Chrysler's Art of Glass 2 exhibits.

The Jeanne and George Roper Theater, located in downtown Norfolk, Virginia, is an elegant jewel in the crown of Tidewater Community College. The theater began it's life as a vaudeville house in 1926. Built by Marcus Loew, founder of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios and the Loews Theaters company, the then titled Loew's State Theater featured glass chandeliers and an air conditioning system comprised of electric fans blowing air over blocks of ice. Purchased and restored in 2000, the Roper Performing Arts center has once again become a vital asset to the city of Norfolk Virginia and an important reason to attend TCC.

Tidewater Community College features a number of programs designed to assist their students in either honing current skills or to gain new ones so they can be fully prepared to enter the workforce. One such program is the Apprenticeship Related Instruction or ARI.

The ARI allows students to gain necessary on-the-job-training while they learn those skills the partner industries require. Once a student has completed the required coursework and OJT he or she will be awarded a Journeyman certificate from the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. This certificate would allow a TCC student to potentially earn a greater income in their chosen industry than someone without their level of both academic and work-related experience.

TCC's slogan, "From here go anywhere", reflects their comprehensive articulation agreements with most of the major four-year universities in Virginia as well as many local technical colleges such as ECPI and Strayer University. These agreements guarantee that a student of Tidewater Community College will be able to attend the state university of their choice should they wish to pursue an advanced degree.

An additional benefit of attending a Virginia community college is the tuition lock. Virginia bill HB1459 allows incoming TCC freshmen to transfer to a state four-year university for the same tuition rates paid during their community college days. This would allow a Tidewater Community College student to obtain their Bachelor's Degree for about one-third of the cost they would have paid had they gone straight into a university program from high school.

The student body of TCC is as diverse as the state of Virginia. As of the 2007-08 school year, 44% of the student body was made up of minorities and the average age of a Tidewater Community College student was 27. 50% of the student body was over the age of 24, making TCC an extremely comfortable place for the adult returning to college after a break. With over 38,000 students enrolled, TCC was among the 50 fastest growing colleges in the nation, serving 45% of Hampton Roads residents involved in higher education.

Whether you are an adult interested in refining or learning a new skill, a parent looking for an inexpensive way to ensure your child's future, or a new high school grad ready to get your life moving in a new direction, Tidewater Community College is the place to be. "From here go anywhere".