Spring enrollment at N.C. community colleges outpaces national trends

The ASAP model is designed to be a a three-year program with four core areas of targeted support:

• High-quality student services
• Direct financial support
• Course enrollment
• Program expectations that facilitate movement through the program

“ASAP’s educational framework is rooted in a theory of action that assumes that college success is based in three interrelated constructs: students’ ability to gain and maintain academic momentum, the development of college integration and belonging, and the ability to access timely and relevant support services.”

In other words, ASAP is based on the idea that while each core area independently supports a student, it is by working in tandem with one another over the course of three years that the model is able to so effectively address barriers to degree completion.

Among undergraduate enrollments, community colleges saw the largest growth — a 5.4% increase, or 288,000 students. In North Carolina, that increase was even larger. Among public two-year colleges in North Carolina, spring enrollment increased by 8.3%, or by nearly 16,000 students, compared to spring 2024.

And for the third consecutive year, high-vocational public two-year colleges “had substantial growth in enrollment (+11.7%, +91,000).”

“Enrollment at these trade-focused institutions increased almost 20 percent since the spring of 2020 (871,000 students; +19.4% over 2020) and now comprises 19.4 percent of public two-year enrollment,” the report says.

By June 15, 2025, the council will recommend “strategic, quantifiable goals that will be most meaningful and holistically grow and prepare North Carolina’s workforce development efforts the next four years,” one council member said.

The goals will address several topic areas, including credential and degree attainment, labor market alignment, apprenticeships, work-based learning, sector-based strategies in emerging areas, and state government employment.

“We know that strong partnerships are the key to unlocking workforce potential in rural areas,” said Dr. Zach Barricklow, interim vice president of strategic initiatives for NCCCS. “This toolkit highlights how North Carolina’s community colleges are not only meeting the needs of advanced manufacturing employers, but also driving economic resilience in the communities they serve.”

Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (CCC&TI) announced that it will provide scholarships for each of the middle school students currently finishing out their school year on the college’s Watauga campus in Boone. The scholarships, awarded through the foundation of CCC&TI, will provide assistance to cover up to five semesters of tuition at CCC&TI.

The 120 middle school students are completing their academic year on the College’s Watauga campus due to catastrophic damage to the existing Valle Crucis School from Hurricane Helene. Construction on a new school is underway but not slated for completion until this summer leaving all of VCS students displaced. In addition to CCC&TI, Valle Crucis Conference Center and Holy Cross Church is hosting kindergarten through 5^th grade students and Appalachian State University’s Child Development Center is hosting pre-k students.

Revenue forecast | Economists from the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) and the Fiscal Research Division (FRD) have updated what’s called “the consensus revenue forecast,” projecting that North Carolina has $180 million less in revenue for this fiscal year than anticipated in February 2025.

Resources | EdNC compiled resources to help you know who your representatives are and how to contact them.

Student stories | “Carolina Servin Leon, a student at Gaston College, has been awarded the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship,” according to a recent college press release. Servin Leon is one of 90 community college students from across the nation to receive the highly competitive scholarship. 

Campus news | Carteret Community College recently held a ribbon cutting at the new Crystal Coast Fire Academy at Beaufort Fire Station 2. The college has had a fire academy since 2008, but has had to use different fire departments to hold classes. They’ll now have a centralized location for classes.

President reflections | Dr. Maria Pharr reflects on her first year as president at Pitt Community College and talks about the college’s close ties with Pitt County’s economy and workforce. Pharr also discusses the important role Propel NC would play, if passed, in continuing many of the college’s ongoing credentialing programs.

New programs | Cape Fear Community College is launching a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) program this fall. The program is designed to prepare students for careers in AI and machine learning, focusing on real-world uses of AI.

Hurricane Helene | EdNC recently republished an article written by ProPublica that shares five key lessons learned from their Helene reporting, including information that prescient warnings didn’t reach people in harm’s way. 

A short video from Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College features the experiences of college leaders and students during and after Helene.