Rappahannock Community College will receive $422,892 in federal funding in FY 2024 to improve the enrollment, retention, graduation rates, and professional outcomes for low-income students, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced Sept. 28.

The award represents the first year of a multi-year grant that will provide RCC over $2.1 million over five years.RCC is one of six community colleges in the Virginia Community College System awarded funding by the U.S. Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions Program. The program was created to help colleges and universities become self-sufficient and expand their capacity to serve low-income students, by providing funds to improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions.

RCC serves a 12-county region across the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula. The service area is the size of Delaware and is rural, interspersed with many rivers and creeks, coverin...