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Welcome to Awake58 — a weekly newsletter where you’ll find the latest updates on community college related news and events around the state. Plus, a look at what’s trending nationally in higher education.
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How North Carolina community colleges are implementing a new accelerated college-to-career program… State Health Plan updates… The State Board of Community Colleges’ Presidential Search Committee met Monday… New county tier designations for 2026 released… Event teaches ESL students about community college’s career paths… CFNC hosted regional trainings… Final candidates announced for James Sprunt Community College presidency… MerleFest announces full lineup for 2026 event… Plus, ways you can support EdNC as we close out the year…
Hi all, Emily Thomas with Awake58.
This week, we’re taking a look at how some colleges in the first Boost cohort are putting the program into practice and what they’ve learned so far.
Here’s what you need to know about Boost if you only have a few minutes:
Boost is North Carolina’s new college-to-career program that kicked off earlier this year with its first cohort of community colleges. There are 15 colleges participating, and eight of them will be partnered in consortia. The program is designed to quickly move students into high-wage, high-demand careers. Eligible students are enrolled in a degree program aligned with the state’s proposed funding model — Propel NC. Boost students receive frequent interactions with advisers, cohort activities with other Boost students, and financial incentives.
Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute and Cleveland Community College are the first Boost consortium. Together, they share a director and must serve a combined 200 students each year. Their presidents said this team approach was a natural fit as the two colleges are already partnering on the high-demand, high-cost medical sonography program.
In this EdNC read, CCC&TI and CCC leaders share how they hope Boost will help meet local workforce needs and enroll students in historically hard-to-fill programs. Plus, you can read early lessons learned from the colleges as they navigate being the first Boost consortium.
For more Boost content, check out this piece about Central Piedmont Community College.
Each of the community colleges in Boost are tailoring the program to best meet the needs of their unique student population. At Central Piedmont, leaders said they’re emphasizing building student belonging through personalized coaching, accelerating students on transfer pathways to meet local workforce needs, and ensuring the program can scale to support more students. And their efforts have already paid off. Central Piedmont Boost students were enrolled by August 2025, and by Oct. 1, the college met its goal of enrolling 150 students — there’s now a waitlist.
During its last meeting of the year, the State Health Plan (SHP) Board of Trustees discussed data from the open enrollment period, benefit updates, and an update on the plan’s financial footing.
Tom Friedman, executive administrator of the SHP, shared during the meeting that the plan is now financially solvent. Following the changes, the SHP is not going to be in a deficit for 2026 or 2027.
SHP staff also gave updates during the meeting on the number of preferred providers across North Carolina.
“When you look at the map, something I am exceedingly proud of is the depth and breadth of preferred primary care providers across the state of North Carolina,” Friedman said. “We don’t have access in every county to a preferred provider, but a lot of those counties don’t have very much access to anything at all. So it is not for lack of trying — it is for health care demographics more than anything else.”
You can read more SHP updates here.
In other news, new county tier designations for 2026 were released last week. Some of North Carolina’s western countries are classified as more economically distressed than the previous year, due in part to the impacts of Hurricane Helene. County tier designations use a three-level system to determine economic needs and state funding levels. Certain tier designations may qualify counties for participation in grant programs or for more state financial support.
The presidential search committee for the N.C. Community College System met Monday afternoon. After meeting in closed session, the group briefly discussed the logistics of hearing presentations from search firms this month. The Board has said it intends to choose a search firm and award a contract in January. Stay tuned.
EdNC will be wrapping up the year soon. Several team members are working on a special project this month on lessons learned across the education continuum from Hurricane Helene. You can expect to see the project early in the new year. Our last Awake58 of 2025 will go out next week. Be sure to catch the special edition.
Before signing off, I’d like to invite you to give to EdNC.
Since 2015, EdNC’s mission has always been to expand educational opportunities for all students in North Carolina, increase their academic attainment, and improve the performance of the state’s public schools. It’s been a big year for education and a big year for EdNC. We’ve continued to cover Hurricane Helene recovery, the transitions at the N.C. Community College System, and the impact of what’s happening in Washington D.C. on our state.
Your decision to give helps us continue doing this critical work.
As a thank you, we’re giving away a few gifts:
- If you donate $25, we’ll send you an EdNC tumbler;
- If you donate $50, we’ll send you an EdNC T-shirt; and
- If you donate $100, we’ll send you an embroidered EdNC quarter-zip sweatshirt.
Your donation indicates your support of our work and any amount you can give matters. We will have a $100 gift card raffle for all donors who give $25 or less.
As always, we are continually grateful for the work you all do for our students. It matters – for our state and our future.
Until next time,
Emily Thomas
Regional Director of Western North Carolina — EdNC.org
EdNC reads
Meet the leaders of the first Boost consortium
Boost leaders at CCC said that high-touch advising and peer support help ground students and encourage completion. However, the financial incentives may be most enticing to students at first. The Next NC scholarship covers tuition and fees for Boost students. They also receive up to $600 per academic year for textbook costs and a $100 monthly stipend for successfully meeting with their adviser.
For students at CCC, $100 could be the difference between being able to pay for internet or the power bill, said Dr. Emily Hurdt, dean of enrollment.
How Boost is working to build belonging, meet workforce needs, and increase ‘human capacity’ at Central Piedmont
In a large metro area like Charlotte, transfer pathways are a key part of meeting the workforce needs of local employers. During the 2024-25 school year, more than 3,000 Central Piedmont students transferred to four-year institutions. A focus on transfer is also reflected among Boost students, about half of which are on transfer pathways, according to Amy Bruining, vice president of student affairs and Boost at Central Piedmont.
“I don’t want us to forget as educators and as a system, when we talk about workforce development, transfer is workforce development,” said Kandi Deitemeyer, president of Central Piedmont.
State Health Plan on track to see surplus through 2027 following benefit changes and premium increases
In 2025, members paid $25 for the 70/30 standard plan and $50 for the 80/20 plus plan. Starting in January, that will increase to $35 to $80 for the standard plan, increasing by salary bands, and $66 to $160 for the plus plan. The premium costs for subscribers with children on their plan will now actually be lower for most members. Starting in 2026, only the highest-paid employees will pay more for the subscriber plus children plan.
Last week, Friedman said there was a slight uptick in members choosing to enroll their children in the plan. Additionally, he said more people selected the plus plan, despite the higher increase in premium increases under that option. Lastly, he said fewer people left the 70/30 standard plan to go into Medicare Advantage than anticipated.
Career exploration event teaches ESL students about community college’s career paths
Central Carolina Community College’s (CCCC) English as a Second Language (ESL) students got a special look at the college’s career resources last month, according to a CCCC press release. The College and Career Exploration Night featured representatives from the college’s seven academic programs, called “career communities,” who outlined the classes students could take to prepare for specific careers, the press release said. Those clusters are applied technologies, arts, business technologies, professional services, public safety, health sciences, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).
Western NC counties more distressed in 2026 tier designations
Based on the tier of a given county, it might qualify for additional state financial support and grant programs. According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce website, state agencies and “even private-sector or nonprofit organizations choose to adopt the Tiers system as guidance for determining eligibility requirements for a particular program.”
Around NC
EdNC perspective | College for North Carolina (CFNC) spent September and October preparing education professionals to help students understand their options. “At eight locations spanning the state, CFNC associate outreach directors, staff from the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) — CFNC’s primary sponsor — and trusted sector and nonprofit partners came together. They spread awareness about college application and financial aid best practices and federal and state updates as part of the kickoff to C2C. The countdown is the state’s yearlong initiative to get students to complete three crucial steps in college enrollment: residency, financial aid, and college applications,” writes NCSEAA’s Alex Granados.
James Sprunt presidential finalists announced | James Sprunt Community College’s Board of Trustees recently announced four candidates for the college’s next president: Dr. Dean Roughton, currently serving as vice president of institutional research, planning, effectiveness and technology at the College of The Albemarle; Dr. Robin Ross, currently serving as vice president of K64 and talent development at Catawba Valley Community College; Dr. Shannon Hair, currently serving as vice president of institutional advancement and development at Danville Community College in Danville, VA; and Dr. Dustin Walston, currently serving as vice president of curriculum/chief academic officer at James Sprunt.
The four candidates have been invited to the college for public forums, each hosted at 3:30 p.m. the day of the respective forum, with virtual attendance options available.
- Dec. 9 – Dr. Dean Roughton
- Dec. 10 – Dr. Robin Ross
- Dec. 15 – Dr. Shannon Hair
- Dec. 16 – Dr. Dustin Walston
The college plans to have the new president in place by Feb. 1, 2026. You can read more about the search on James Sprunt’s website.
In the news | Dr. Jeff Cox visited Roanoke-Chowan Community College last week to discuss enrollment, workforce development, and new programs with college leadership. He also met with early college high school students. Cox said his visit was part of his goal to visit every community college campus in the state before leaving office in June.
Prison education research | Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College is one of 16 institutions nationwide that make up the inaugural Prison Education Research Initiative (PERI). PERI “will link postsecondary and workforce outcome data with institutional data on incarcerated learners across a diverse range of academic pathways and modalities,” the press release says. The cohort is part of a larger program out of the University of Utah, “PEARL,” funded by Ascendium Education Group to launch the first national center dedicated to prison education research.
Student stories | “I enrolled in the class just to get to Carteret… I thought I’d sleep until graduation. Man, was I wrong. We learned so much about life and what it takes to be successful out there. I feel ready for it now,” said one student who is participating in Carteret Community College’s 30+ year old reentry program. The program’s completion rates are around 75%, and as many as 66 students graduate annually.
Adult learners | This research brief from New America reviews state initiatives to reenroll adult learners, and features North Carolina’s NC Reconnect and InsideTrack initiatives.
Events | Wilkes Community College’s annual music festival and fundraiser, MerleFest, recently announced their full lineup for the April 2026 event. Featured artists include: Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Old Crow Medicine Show, Charles Wesley Godwin, The Infamous Stringdusters, Joy Oladokun, and more. The festival is scheduled for April 23-26 on the college’s campus. Find more information here.
Study abroad | Davidson-Davie Community College is offering a study abroad opportunity for students enrolled in one of the state’s 58 community colleges. Participants will spend two weeks in Bordeaux, France, from June 14 to June 28, 2026. Participants will be working, collaborating, and learning with students from IUT-University of Bordeaux. They will be housed in a dorm and attend classes or enrichment activities alongside French students in Bordeaux. Davidson-Davie asks that students’ home colleges pay $1,000 for each student they send. Each student also pays $2,775, for a total cost of $3,775. The program fee includes flights, housing, insurance, ground transportation, daily programming, breakfast, and several additional meals. Space is limited. Schools can request slots by emailing Sarah Wright at [email protected].
Forsyth Technical Community College is offering a study abroad experience in Costa Rica from June 24 to July 4, 2026. The cost is $3,000 and includes flights, 10-nights of housing, airport transportation in Costa Rica, all planned excursions, transportation in Costa Rica pertaining to the course, some meals, speakers, and a 3-credit course (HUM 180 or INT 180). Participants’ home base will be in the capital of Costa Rica: San Jose. Spanish is not a requirement to travel. The college can offer a payment schedule, with your initial (nonrefundable) deposit on or before Dec. 10. Questions can be directed to Dr. Renee Just at [email protected].
Fellowship opportunity | Applications for the John M. Belk Impact Fellowship are now open. The 10-month paid fellowship is a “training ground for future generations of social impact leaders” who will have the chance to deepen their experience across a wide array of focus area and gain marketable skills toward future employment. Full-time community college, undergraduate, or graduate students at an accredited North Carolina college or university interested in fields of education, public policy, political science, data analytics, psychology, or related fields can apply. The application portal closes March 20, 2026. You can find out more details about the fellowship and how to apply here.
Other higher education reads
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