Richmond - The State Council for Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV) released two new reports that provide updates on SCHEV initiatives designed to help the Commonwealth meet its goal to become the best state for education by 2030.

Pathways to Opportunity: The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, Annual Report: This report assesses progress toward achieving Virginia’s higher education goals. Key findings include a two-percentage point increase in educational attainment from the 2019-2020 academic year. However, gains were mixed depending on race, income, gender and region. In addition, results were mixed for degrees awarded and enrollment. Student borrowing decreased across-the-board; however, the amount of student debt held steady. Wages 10 years after graduation increased for most completers. The annual report also highlights activities undertaken by SCHEV in 2023 that directly support The Plan’s goals and strategies.

Office of the Qualified Education Loan Ombudsman, Annual Report: Among the contents of this report are a profile of the more than 670 Virginians assisted by the office in its first five years and the types of challenges they face; a summary of in-person and virtual outreach efforts, which yielded a combined attendance exceeding 1,000 people; details on virginiastudentloanhelp.org, via which approximately 12,000 unique users participated in one or more loan-borrower-education course modules during 2023; collaborative work with other states to secure relief for borrowers; and an update on federal policy recommendations to address issues experienced by Virginia borrowers.

The full reports are available at schev.edu/reports.

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The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is the state’s coordinating agency for higher education. With Pathways to Opportunity: The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, SCHEV is dedicated to making Virginia the best state for education by 2030. For more on this statewide strategic plan, visit schev.edu/TheVirginiaPlan.