Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) is one of the 23 schools in the Virginia Community College System. It was founded in 1970 and has the largest geographic service area of any community college in the state, covering 10 counties and the city of Emporia.
SVCC has two main campuses, the Christanna Campus, located near Alberta in Brunswick County, and the John H. Daniel Campus, just outside Keysville in Charlotte County. It also offers classes at a number of off-campus sites and online. Major off-campus locations include the Southside Virginia Education Center, in Emporia; Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, in South Boston; Estes Community Center, in Chase City; Lake Country Advanced Knowledge Center, South Hill; and the SVCC Occupational/Technical Center in Blackstone. Along with these major sites, SVCC has many smaller off-campus sites scattered throughout its service region that serve a large number of students.
Dr. Alfred A. Roberts is the current president of SVCC. He has served as president since July 2014.
Southside Virginia Community College offers courses through video conferencing services and online utilizing the Internet. Online courses at Southside are offered completely online utilizing Blackboard, the online course management system. Course are also offered via hybrid format, which are taught 50% online and 50% face-to-face. Online and hybrid courses offer students more flexibility than traditional face-to-face courses, however, many of our traditional face-to-face instructors utilize Blackboard to supplement their courses and extend teaching beyond the walls of the classroom.
Old Dominion University, located in Norfolk, VA, has partnered with Southside Virginia Community College to create a distance learning program that allows student to attend Old Dominion University via online classes. This provides students living in rural locations an opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree from a prestigious four-year program, without the burden of relocating.