Welcome to another week of Awake58! If you were forwarded this email, be sure to subscribe by clicking here.
Happy Tuesday!
Roanoke-Chowan Community College is on probation, and Alex Granados has the story … Golden LEAF rolled out a major initiative targeting barriers to employment for North Carolinians … USA Today is looking at Latino achievement…
In December, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) put Roanoke-Chowan Community College on probation for another six months. SACSCOC is the agency charged with accreditation for the state’s community colleges. It initially put Roanoke-Chowan on probation in June 2019.
The State Board of Community Colleges heard about the most recent probation decision at its meeting last week. My colleague Alex Granados was present and he has a piece out today featuring the discussion and the SCSCOC decision.
Thank you for reading Awake58 this week! And thank you to the folks who sent in story ideas last week. As always, reply directly to this email if you have ideas!
See you on the road,
Nation
Director of Growth, EdNC.org
Golden LEAF unveils GLOW to bolster workforce
The Golden LEAF Foundation is launching a new grant program that will provide $5 million for grants to nonprofits and governmental organizations to help adults facing barriers to employment, and Alex Granados has the story.
According to a program description for the initiative, low unemployment and high job growth in North Carolina are challenging businesses as they seek workers from a relatively small supply. The description said that a recent survey showed that 50% of employers are having trouble hiring, and that the problem will worsen as the state adds an estimated 389,000 jobs by 2026.
Click here to find out how the program will work, and get information on how to apply.
More Latino students than ever are trying to get degrees, but it’s fraught and costly
More Latino students are attending college, but they are finding a number of barriers as they do so per a story from the USA Today Network. This trend matters for many reasons, but these statistics featured in the article stand out:
“The number of Hispanic students enrolled in college rose from 3.17 million in 2016 to 3.27 million in 2017, making them only one of two demographic groups that saw an increase in college attendance, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s nearly double the 1.4 million Latino students who attended college in 2000.” The Latino population that has enrolled features a variety of factors including nearly 70% of the undergraduates coming from families in the bottom half of earners, and nearly half are first in their family to attend college. For more information, check out the story. The story is long, but it goes deep on an issue that more and more colleges must grapple with as student bodies change.
Around NC
Blue Ridge Community College announced its single largest gift donation from an individual last week. The estate of Mrs. Liselotte R. Wehrheim donated $1.75 million dollars to support scholarships and other aspects of the college’s healthcare training programs. Click here for more details on the gift!
James Sprunt reported an increased enrollment of 10% in curriculum courses for the spring compared with the prior year. It had a 9% increase in the fall. How is enrollment looking at your college? We would love to know. Just reply directly to this email.
This piece from the Carolina Journal on Elizabeth City State University is worth your time. Chancellor Karie Dixon spoke with the Journal on NC Promise, enrollment increases, and other issues.
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