The advising landscape at NC community colleges

Key findings:

1. Staffing: The majority of colleges (73%) reported using a hybrid model, where both professional staff and faculty serve as advisers; 18% of colleges reported using only professional staff advisers, and 9% of colleges reported using only faculty advisers.
2. Caseloads: The average caseload of students per adviser was 258.4, with variations by student headcount and staffing model. At colleges that only use faculty advisers, the average caseload was 23.5 students; at colleges that only use professional staff advisers, the average caseload was 337.5 students.
3. Students served: All colleges reported offering academic advising to curriculum students, and most reported offering advising to dual enrollment students (91%) and early college students (86%). However, advising services are less commonly offered to adult basic education students (50%) and continuing education students (36%).
4. Methods: Colleges were asked to select which advising method best describes their approach: prescriptive, developmental, or intrusive/proactive; 40% selected developmental, 40% selected intrusive/proactive, and 20% selected prescriptive.

The Governor’s Council on Workforce and Apprenticeships has identified 30 strategies to advance North Carolina’s workforce development goals, published in a new report on Monday, Dec. 15.

On Monday, Jan. 5, Gov. Stein and Department of Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley highlighted the goals and strategies outlined in the report at a special workforce announcement at Machine Specialities in Whitsett, N.C.

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has gifted $36 million to two North Carolina community colleges. Robeson Community College (RCC), located in Lumberton, announced on Dec. 11 it had received $24 million from Scott, the largest single gift in the college’s 60-year history. In neighboring Bladen County, Bladen Community College (BCC) also received the largest gift in its history thanks to a $12 million gift from Scott, according to WECT.

Gov. Josh Stein recently sent Secretary of Education Linda McMahon a letter urging her to reconsider the Department of Education’s proposal to cap federal loans for graduate nursing programs, according to a Dec. 9 press release.

“North Carolina is already challenged to address a significant nursing shortage,” Stein said. “Reducing the number of nurses qualified to teach will reduce the number of seats available to nursing students across the state. We should be reducing barriers for people who want careers in the health care fields, not creating them.”

From Dr. Laura Leatherwood: “Looking back on the past few years, we’ve seen many successes in our coaching programs while learning valuable lessons along the way. It is clear how powerful individualized student support through one-on-one coaching can be. One of the program’s most notable achievements has been its collaboration with Henderson County Public Schools and Transylvania County Schools to place career coaches directly within local high schools. Working alongside guidance counselors, these coaches help students each day to envision career paths, apply for financial aid, and get a jump-start on college courses.”

N.C. ranked No. 1 in Site Selection Magazine | Earlier this month, North Carolina was ranked number one in Site Selection Magazine’s annual Workforce Development Rankings. Site Selection Magazine is a widely read publication by corporate real estate executives, site selectors, and economic professionals worldwide, according to a recent press release. The press release also noted that the rankings “are closely watched by companies making location and expansion decisions, evaluating states on factors such as workforce readiness, training capacity, labor quality and alignment between education and industry needs.” 

State Auditor’s Office recognition | In December 2025, the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor (OSA) established a new Award of Excellence for state entities that “meet strict eligibility criteria in preparing financial statement and federal compliance audits.” The North Carolina Community College System and four community colleges were among the 2024 fiscal year winners.

Honoring the late Gov. Jim Hunt | Former education professor Charles Coble writes that “the collective impact of Gov. Hunt’s drive to improve education was remarkable: teacher retention and teacher quality improved, student absenteeism was reduced, and graduation rates increased. Most important, student achievement on all state and national tests improved significantly.” Read his full perspective here.

Enrollment | Spring enrollment at Wake Tech hit a record high. The college reported that it started the new semester with over 27,000 degree-seeking students, a 9% increase compared to last year.

NCCCJT fall edition | The fall edition of the North Carolina Community College Journal of Teaching Innovation (NCCCJTI) is now available. The latest issue features “innovative scholarship, practical strategies, and research-driven insights that highlight the creativity and resilience of educators across the community college sector.” You can find the full issue here.

NC Edge | Richmond Community College and Cummins’ Scotland County facility signed the college’s largest NC Edge training project earlier this year. The project was written to impact all of Cummins’ current local employees and provide training for additional workers expected to be hired over the next three years.

High School Equivalency goal | Sampson Community College (SCC) and Sampson Correctional Institution announced that they surpassed its High School Equivalency (HiSET) Vocational Challenge goal for the 2024-25 academic year by 223%. In 2024-2025, SCC saw 14 HiSET graduates and 40 vocational completions, rising from the 7 HiSet graduates and 40 vocational completions in 2023-24. The goal this year is to hit 81 total completions (both HiSET and vocational).

Student stories | Eight McDowell Tech employees completed academic degrees from associate and bachelor’s degrees to master’s and doctoral programs in the past year, “reinforcing a culture of lifelong learning,” a college press release says.

Program updates | Fayetteville Technical Community College recently revamped its Airframe and Powerplant License Prep course to better reflect changes in aviation. The revamp also considered service members from nearby Fort Bragg transitioning to civilian work and aviation personnel with hands-on experience but needing credentials for advancement.