The North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges continued its self-evaluation process last week, approving a set of recommendations for the second phase of its three-year development and engagement plan at its April 22nd meeting.

The three primary recommendations established: a process and schedule for annual evaluation and goal setting for the system president, a stronger framework for Board engagement in the system’s strategic plan, and an increased understanding of the role and mission of the Board. The approval of those recommendations followed the Board’s development of five goals for the system president in March, during a closed-session meeting that lasted more than three hours.

The five goals for the system president are:

1. Enhance team building, internal communications, and leadership development to improve hiring, retention, turnover, and morale.
2. Strategy to enhance regular communications with Presidents, Board Members, and Legislators to inform them on the activities of the System Office.
3. Frame a plan in collaboration with community colleges to address enrollment declines that promotes best practices and initiatives.
4. Identify administrative and programmatic changes, including collaborations and reduction of red tape, to better support our colleges based on feedback from the presidents that was provided during listening sessions.
5. Establish a platform for identifying and developing initiatives to support the stabilizations and advancement of rural colleges in light of the demographic and funding challenges that many of them face.

System President Thomas Stith gave his first update on those five goals at Friday’s meeting. Both Stith and Board Chair Burr Sullivan stressed that this was the start of the process.

“There’s a lot to reflect on,” Sullivan said. “I’m glad we have a capable Board that’s willing to roll their sleeves up, sit here for 4.5 hours, and do the work of our students.”

The Board also previously approved a $6,000 contract with training organization TaylorTrain to conduct a climate survey among community college system office staff. The Board received a summary of those results last week, Sullivan said, but doesn’t plan to present a public version of the findings.

The Board announced that Dr. Ken Boham will serve as interim president at Johnston Community College starting May 16, 2022.

An economic impact study presented to the State Board of Community Colleges last month found the NCCCS contributes about $19.3 billion to the state’s economy each year. The community college system supports 319,763 jobs and employs 36,422 people, according to the report from labor analytics firm Emsi/Burning Glass.

The study also indicates the system nearly doubles the revenue taken in from taxpayers, with taxpayers getting $1.90 back in added tax revenues and public sector savings for every dollar the state invests. And on average, the report shows that North Carolina community college students have a rate of return on their college investment of 22.3%.

At an event celebrating the results of the report on Wednesday, John M. Belk Endowment President and Board Chair MC Belk Pilon thanked community presidents and leaders for participating in the study. Each of the state’s 58 colleges submitted data for the project. Belk Pilon said the idea for the systemwide study came while discussing how to help presidents at a local level and state leaders alike better understand the value of community colleges.

Natasha Lipscomb, vice president of student success services at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, shares her higher education story:

“Coming from a single parent household in a major urban city, the idea of college was overwhelming for me. My mother worked hard to pay our bills; and I could not bring myself to burden her with a conversation about college. My school counselor at our mostly Black high school, Willie Stroble, gave me no choice in the matter when it came to college.

I remember sitting in the guidance office completing college applications during my assigned time slot. My next task was to bring Mr. Stroble my mom’s tax forms. Stroble, with my mother’s permission, helped me complete my FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Shortly thereafter, I received an award letter in the mail from the U.S. Department of Education. I did not know fully what it meant, but it said I had money to go to college.

That letter was enough to encourage me to take the next step. Today, I am a first-generation college student who has earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and am in the last few semesters of a PhD program. Access to Pell Grants and scholarships through the FAFSA changed my life.”

Lipscomb goes on to share recommendations to increase North Carolina’s FAFSA completion rate, including requiring FAFSA completion for every high school student.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced Friday $27 million in federal funding for the creation of a “Summer Accelerator” grant program to provide tuition assistance for postsecondary students to take summer courses. Here are the details, according to the press release:

“The Summer Accelerator grant program will provide grants up to $5,000 to cover tuition, fees, books, housing, and other expenses based on the number of summer courses a student is taking. To be eligible for a Summer Accelerator grant, a student must be a North Carolina resident for tuition purposes, enrolled in an academic program leading to a postsecondary degree or credential, and be working towards their first postsecondary degree or credential. Funds will be available for students who take courses during the summer of 2022 and 2023. Students interested in the program should contact their college’s financial aid office.”

The Johnston County Report has a story out on the resignation of Johnston Community College president, Dr. David Johnson, effective May 15, 2022.

The North Carolina Community College Journal of Teaching Innovation has issued a call for submissions for its second issue. To submit a manuscript, email [email protected] by April 29th.

Lowe’s has invested $500,000 in Sampson Community College to “improve student access to construction and home improvement programs,” according to the Sampson Independent.

Central Piedmont Community College and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina are partnering to develop a “more diverse and inclusive talent pool of trained and licensed individuals for the insurance production and sales industry,” according to a press release. Central Piedmont will use the funding to provide scholarships to 26 students per year for five years.

Ten students completed their commercial driver’s license (CDL) certification in March thanks to Halifax Community College and Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute’s truck driver training program partnership.

Martin Community College and Roanoke-Chowan Community College are partnering together to expand nursing program options for Martin Community College students. Read more here.

NC Tech Paths, a new nonprofit that launched in January 2022, recently purchased the Wilkes Journal-Patriot newspaper building in downtown North Wilkesboro to serve as a “Regional Tech Outpost” that will house technology employees, entrepreneurs, freelancers, and more. The nonprofit is partnering with Wilkes Community College and Per Scholas.

Lawrence Rouse, president of Pitt Community College, recently published an op-ed in The Daily Advance celebrating the “normalization of sending kids to community colleges after high school.”

The Wilson Times published a feature on the artistry of Wilson Community College’s welding students. Read it here.

The Hunt Institute is hosting a webinar titled, “Postsecondary Pathways | Attainment for All: Using Disaggregated Data to Close Equity Gaps,” on May 12th at 2:00 p.m. Register here.

EdSurge’s Rebecca Koenig looks at new research published by the Society for Human Resource Management that found that “even though executives say they support alternative credentials, the practices and attitudes of mid-level managers and HR professionals do not always value these upstart certifications.” What does that mean for the value of alternative credentials?

A survey of 11,227 U.S. adults conducted last fall found that “three-fourths of students in bachelor’s degrees programs and two-thirds of adults seeking associate degrees who considered taking a break from college within the last six months cited emotional stress.” See the report from Gallup and Lumina Foundation here.