Access to Achievement expands to 10 more community colleges
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Welcome to Awake58 — a weekly newsletter with the latest updates on community college news and events. If you were forwarded this email, you can sign up for the Awake58 newsletter here, and you can find last week’s edition on our website.
This week’s edition is by Molly Steur, a reporter at EdNC.
Ten more community colleges receive funding to expand Access to Achievement, and other updates from the State Board of Community Colleges… Dig into EdNC’s 2026 voter guide and what you need to know about constitutional amendments… Plus, many NC colleges and universities are waiving application fees this week as part of College Application Week…
Good morning, y’all! I’m so happy to welcome you to Awake58. My name is Molly, and I’m a reporter with EdNC.
I was at the State Board of Community Colleges last week, where I was excited to hear about the expansion of Access to Achievement.
The N.C. Community College System’s (NCCCS) Access to Achievement program is a state-funded workforce training program that serves students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program was initially piloted in 2022 at two colleges and later expanded to a total of 15 colleges.
This expansion, which was funded by the General Assembly in the recent state budget, will launch the program at 10 additional colleges, bringing the total to 25.
Many of the colleges in this expansion — including Cape Fear, Durham Tech, Fayetteville Tech, Gaston College, and Wake Tech — serve larger student populations than the original schools. The Board highlighted how the larger colleges will expand the impact of the program, touching the lives of even more students.
Access to Achievement is unique nationally for its focus on employment and career preparation, not just social skills. For a deep dive on the initiative, you can check out my colleague Chantal Brown’s feature on it here.
Board member Lisa Estep said that the program is “very, very important” to her because of its inclusive design.
“Because it’s a group of students who obviously have wanted to be a part of curriculum, who have wanted to be a part of short-term workforce training, and really haven’t had as much of an opportunity as I think they should have,” said Estep.
The State Board discussed several other initiatives, including high-cost workforce funding and ApprenticeshipNC’s annual report. You can read the full recap article here.
Until next time!
Molly Steur
Reporter, EdNC
EdNC reads
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Less than one month until the 2026 Dallas Herring Lecture | This year’s lecture will be delivered by Dr. Vicki Karolewics, president of Wallace State Community College. Following her remarks, Stanly Community College President Dr. John Enamait and Achieving the Dream President and CEO Dr. Lenore Rodicio will be joined by AJ Jaeger, executive director of the Belk Center, for a moderated fireside chat. Reserve your virtual seat to the Nov. 17 lecture here.
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