Defunct for-profit college chain offering career-focused programs across the southeastern United States (1983–2018).
Virginia College offered career-focused programs including health care, cosmetology, business, criminal justice, paralegal studies, network engineering, and professional trades such as truck driving. The institution also provided online degree programs and distance education through Virginia College Online. Programs were available at certificate, diploma, and degree levels across multiple disciplines.
The college operated brick-and-mortar campuses primarily in the southeastern United States, with the main campus in Birmingham, Alabama (opened as a branch in 1992). At its peak, Virginia College maintained locations in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Arizona. The parent company, Education Corporation of America, also owned Virginia College Online, Golf Academy of America, Culinard (culinary institute), and Ecotech Institute.
Virginia College was initially accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS). When the U.S. Department of Education withdrew recognition from ACICS in September 2016, the college sought accreditation from the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (ACCET). In March 2018, ACCET rejected Virginia College's accreditation proposal and its subsequent appeal. The college announced in September 2018 that approximately one-third of campuses would close by 2020, and in December 2018 announced the closure of all remaining campuses citing financial challenges and accreditation issues.
Virginia College faced significant legal challenges regarding student recruitment and outcomes. In 2012, the Mississippi Center for Justice sued on behalf of seven students, alleging the college misled students about degree value and targeted misleading advertising to women and minority students. In 2022, Virginia College was included in a class action settlement involving 200,000+ student borrowers, with a federal judge finding 'substantial misconduct' by the institution. The Supreme Court upheld the settlement in April 2023, allowing debt cancellation to proceed.