Joint Venture with Danville & Laurel Ridge Community Colleges

Virginia Western Community College began delivery of the Dental Hygiene AAS Program to Danville Community College via distance learning in 1997, graduating the first class in 1999. The program expanded to include Laurel Ridge Community College in 2000, graduating the first class in 2002. Students are admitted to each distance site every 2 years. The program is designed to prepare qualified students as primary preventive oral health professionals licensed to practice dental hygiene. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be eligible to take national, regional, and state board examinations leading to licensure as a registered dental hygienist (RDH).

How does the distance program operate?

The Joint Venture programs are a distance satellite of Virginia Western’s accredited dental hygiene program. Students enroll in the same classes and have clinical experiences just like students on the Roanoke campus.

The dental hygiene classroom environment consists of various modalities. While most courses originate from the main campus at Virginia Western, some courses may originate from one of the distance campuses or be in an online format. The dental hygiene lecture is delivered live to the other classroom site by compressed video (VTEL); students can see and talk to the classroom instructor and to students at the Roanoke site.

Preclinical, clinic, and laboratory courses will take place at the clinical facility developed by the Joint Venture site. DCC has a new facility in Foundation Hall on the Danville campus. Laurel Ridge students attend and have a clinical site on the Middletown campus.

Students may complete any remaining general support courses in the curriculum (English, Microbiology, Psychology, etc.) at DCC or Laurel Ridge while completing the program. (BIO 141 and 142 or equivalents must be completed as prerequisites.)

How do Laurel Ridge and DCC students communicate with Virginia Western faculty?

Students can speak with the instructor during class sessions delivered by compressed video. In addition, weekly conference time will be provided for students at the joint venture site for faculty-student communication. Students will have individual email accounts. Other communication can be done by phone or fax. Local program coordinators are employed at DCC and Laurel Ridge to serve as clinical faculty members and academic advisors for students. These individuals are dental hygienists with an education background.

How can I learn more about the student experience at the joint venture site?

For specific questions about the distance classroom and clinical experiences of the students at DCC or Laurel Ridge, you may contact the following Site Coordinators during the Fall or Spring semester: 

Laurel Ridge campus: Lori Ellington 540-868-7187 (lellington@laurelridge.edu)
DCC campus: Tina Gauldin 434-797-8548 (tina.gauldin@danville.edu)

To apply for admission, refer to Apply Now for instructions.