A note from us
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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EdNC’s second case study on health care partnerships is live… Gov. Roy Cooper signed the second Hurricane Helene relief bill into law… A look at A-B Tech and the road ahead after the storm… A recap from this month’s State Board of Community Colleges meeting… Three North Carolina community college presidents were selected for the Aspen Institute’s fellowship… Plus, it’s the last week of open enrollment in the new State Health Plan for those impacted by Helene…
We have a packed newsletter for you this week.
EdNC published its second case study about partnerships between community colleges and health care systems. The case study explores the collaboration between Craven Community College and CarolinaEast, highlighting how the college and health system are working together in unique ways to mitigate health care worker shortages.
In the case study, you’ll read about the hospital system providing two grants to pay the salary and benefits of four nursing instructors, expediting a program to supply the hospital with surgical technologists, and a hospital interest survey that led to the creation of a nights and weekends licensed practical nursing program. You’ll also find lessons learned along the way and recommendations for scaling this type of partnership. You can read the full case study on our website.
On Oct. 25, Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law a second Hurricane Helene relief bill. The General Assembly unanimously passed a $604 million Hurricane Helene relief package on Oct. 24 to further aid recovery in western North Carolina. The bill includes several education allocations, including $16.75 million to the N.C. Community College System (NCCCS). Some of the allocations for community colleges include emergency scholarship grants, spring tuition grants, and the expansion of mental health services. On Friday, NCCCS President Dr. Jeff Cox released a statement thanking the General Assembly for the aid:
“I want to extend my sincere thanks to the North Carolina General Assembly for their prompt and thoughtful response to the 14 community colleges affected by Hurricane Helene, and to Governor Roy Cooper for signing the relief package into law today. The $10.5 million in emergency grants, along with critical funding for tuition and mental health services, will be instrumental in helping our students and colleges recover. With my deep connection to Western North Carolina, I’ve seen the resilience of these communities firsthand, and this support will help ensure our colleges remain a cornerstone of recovery and rebuilding.”
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College brought students back to their campuses on Oct. 28 after a month-long closure due to Helene. A-B Tech President Dr. John Gossett recently talked with EdNC about bracing for the road ahead as they uncover student needs, logistical challenges, and the impact Helene is already having on college enrollment. Gossett also reflected on the “heroes of Helene” — the first responders who were on the ground immediately.
“Think about who went running,” Gossett said. “It was our law enforcement, EMTs, fire, rescue — all these people we have trained. They were the ones who ran immediately into the storm.”
You can read the full article on our website.
The State Board of Community Colleges also met on Oct. 17-18. Our meeting recap includes discussions of hurricane recovery and the request from NCCCS for student support funds and stabilization dollars due to enrollment loss for impacted colleges.
The October meeting also included a brief discussion about the system’s legislative requests for enrollment growth funding and the implementation of Propel NC. The Board’s monthly transformative discussion included an update on the system’s regional collaboration and rural strategy efforts. You can read more about the regional collaboration — Rural Postsecondary Practices Partnership (RP3) — in the State Board recap on our website.
Finally, as a friendly reminder, this is the last week for open enrollment in the new State Health Plan for those who were impacted by Hurricane Helene. You can find a full list of counties that were given a one-week extension to enroll in this State Health Plan article.
Until next week,
Emily Thomas
Director of Postsecondary Attainment — EdNC.org
EdNC reads
Case study | A partnership between a health system and community college to grow their local health care workforce
“Employment in health care is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2032 with 1.8 million openings per year,” according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
One area of major concern is the demand for nurses — both registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs).
The case study explores the partnership between Craven Community College and CarolinaEast Health System to address their community’s health care workforce challenges.
In 2018, leaders from CarolinaEast Health System approached Craven Community College about the system’s need for a robust talent pipeline of nurses.
One solution: Expand the college’s nursing program, admitting more students each year.
The challenge: More nursing students require more nursing faculty.
The current funding model for North Carolina’s community colleges poses challenges to expanding a program and hiring faculty before the college has generated the FTEs to support the growth.
CarolinaEast awarded the college two separate grants to hire four nursing faculty over the course of several years. The grants allowed the college to expand their nursing program twice. The health system’s initial investment led to the creation of additional partnerships and expanded health care programs.
You can read the full case study on our website. It highlights the collaboration, lessons learned, and recommendations for scaling similar work.
General Assembly passes second Helene relief bill
The Republican-led General Assembly unanimously passed a $604 million Hurricane Helene relief package on Oct. 24, marking the second relief bill passed to aid recovery in western North Carolina. Gov. Roy Cooper signed the second relief bill into law on Oct. 25.
The bill includes various education allocations, including $65 million to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), $16.75 million to the N.C. Community College System (NCCCS), and $10 million toward disaster relief for child care centers and family child care homes.
Here’s a breakdown of the $16.75 million for community colleges:
- The bill establishes a Hurricane Helene Emergency Grant Program for Postsecondary Students to provide emergency scholarship grants of up to $2,500 “per student to eligible postsecondary students who have suffered financial hardship due to the damage and destruction from Hurricane Helene.” There is $10.5 million in funding for emergency grants for affected community college students.
- $5 million toward spring 2025 tuition grants for eligible students at six community colleges “which were designated most or medium impacted by the Community College System Office.”
- $1.25 million to expand mental health services for students and staff at impacted communities colleges.
Read more about community college allocations.
The first relief bill did not include funding for community colleges.
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College braces for the road ahead after Hurricane Helene
Sunday, Oct. 27 marks one month since Hurricane Helene ripped through western North Carolina. While recovery efforts are underway, needs will continue to surface in the weeks and months ahead — everything from professional counseling to dehumidifiers to warm clothing as the winter months approach.
A-B Tech was one of several community colleges whose service areas experienced significant damage and devastation. There are places that are simply gone — buildings and homes wiped away, roads missing, and areas that have endured complete shifts to their geography.
On Oct. 28, the college brought students back after a month-long closure.
In the full article Dr. John Gossett, president of A-B Tech, talks about assessing needs, how their four campuses were used during and after Helene to aid in rescue and recovery, what the road ahead looks like, the looming concern for small businesses in the area, and what he anticipates will be challenges as the college will most certainly endure enrollment loss as a result of Helene.
“This isn’t just another hurricane, this is more water than we’ve had in 100 years.” – Dr. John Gossett, president of A-B Tech
Read more on how A-B Tech is bracing for the road ahead after Helene.
State Board of Community Colleges discusses Helene relief, recovery
As the 14 North Carolina community colleges impacted by Hurricane Helene continue recovery efforts, the N.C. Community College System (NCCCS) is asking state lawmakers for student support funds and stabilization dollars due to enrollment loss, according to information presented at the State Board of Community College’s meeting on Oct. 18.
Alex Fagg, NCCCS vice president of government and external relations, did not share specific funding requests with the Board but said system staff has been in communication with the General Assembly
“We are in constant communication with the General Assembly about our recovery package,” he said. “We want to make sure we get students back into school so they can return to somewhat normalcy. …The other component that we have is looking at how do we support our colleges through stabilization dollars due to FTE (full-time equivalent) loss from the storm. This was done in Hurricane Florence.”
Other Board discussions at the meeting include:
- Approval of a waiver to Board code provisions due to Hurricane Helene. Some of those provisions are:
- Use excess bookstore revenue for repair projects.
- Enroll, distribute an academic credential, or issue a transcript to an impacted student with an outstanding balance.
- Apply tuition paid by impacted students in fall 2024 to offset the tuition for courses of impacted students.
- Waive a prerequisite required by the Combined Course Library for an impacted student.
- The finance committee also approved several allocations:
- $400,000 to four colleges for the Integrated Education and Training project.
- An amount not to exceed $1 million for a twenty-month contract for Microsoft computing resource for data conversion.
- $750,000 in high-cost workforce start-up funding and $1 million in high cost workforce expansion funding for health care workforce programs at four local community colleges.
- $2 million in Perkins carry-over funds from the 2023-24 academic year to the 2024-25 academic year “to be allocated to 56 community colleges to enhance their Career and Technical Education Programs.”
- Finally, the Board approved a new president at Richmond Community College. Brent Barbee, the current executive vice president and chief financial officer, will be the eighth president of the college, succeeding Dr. Dale McInnis who will retire Oct. 31.
Around NC
Institutional partnerships | Cleveland Community College now offers medical sonography through a partnership with Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute. Leaders at CCC and CCC&TI worked together to create the opportunity for Cleveland County students to enroll in the program. CCC&TI faculty teach some classes on CCC’s campus, while other classes are online. The partnership and program came after Atrium Health in Cleveland County identified a need for medical sonographers. The program started in fall 2024.
Presidents selected for Aspen Institute’s President Fellowship | Three North Carolina Community College presidents were recently selected for Aspen Institute’s Fellowship: Dr. Margaret Annunziata, president of Isothermal Community College, Dr. Pamela Senegal, president of Piedmont Community College, and Dr. Janet Spriggs, president of Forsyth Technical Community College. “The fellows will engage in a unique year-long professional development experience that will help them refine and enact a reform agenda to help more of their students succeed both during and after college,” according to an ICC press release.
The Defense Industrial Supply Chain Summit | The summit is scheduled for Oct. 29-30 in Charlotte. The press release states that companies in the aerospace, maritime, armamaents, or ground vehicle chain are ideal attendees. Several N.C. community college employees are speaking at the event.
Womenpreneur Empowerment Summit | Brunswick Community College is set to host their third annual “Womenpreneur Empowerment Summit” on Nov. 13-14. The summit will include teaching essential information to current and prospective entrepreneurs and small business owners.
State Board of Proprietary Schools | The State Board of Proprietary Schools will meet virtually Nov.1.
New job alert | LatinxEd is hiring an assistant director of communications. You can view the full job announcement and how to apply here.
Hurricane recovery fundraiser | Craven Community College recently started a fundraising drive for Mayland Community College to aid in recovery efforts. Mayland’s community endured significant damage as a result of Helene. Craven Community College is one of several community colleges across the state to “adopt” Mayland in an “effort to help them reopen their doors and support their community,” per a release from the college.
Hurricane aid | Alamance Community College recently delivered hurricane aid to Blue Ridge Community College. According to a press release from Blue Ridge, Alamance employees and volunteers drove more than three hours one way to provide food, water, toiletries, and more to those in need at Blue Ridge Community College.
Project Kitty Hawk update | Five hundred and fifty-eight students are now enrolled in 11 degree programs in Project Kitty Hawk, a UNC System initiative designed for working adults. From the system’s press release: “I’ve repeatedly said that it is our moral obligation to better serve adult learners,” said UNC System President Peter Hans. “The UNC System is now making good on that obligation and educating hundreds of new students who previously lacked access to the high-quality education our universities provide.”
Higher ed related events and webinars:
- Dallas Herring lecture | This year’s Dallas Herring Lecture is less than one month away. The lecture is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 19 and features Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, chancellor of the Austin Community College District, as the keynote speaker. You can register for the event here.
- Adult Learning conference | The Adult Learning Conference hosted by the NCCCS will take place Nov. 21-22 in Raleigh. Click here to register and see the agenda.