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At Haywood Community College (HCC), our 2021-2026 Strategic Plan includes an engagement goal. As our task force initially drafted this plan, the objectives were challenging to quantify in terms of outcomes, but we knew the concept was important.
Given the state of the world in 2021 related to the pandemic, we included a focus on students and employees alike, knowing many had disengaged or become distant for many months or more. We sought to engage our broader community with unique activities and outdoor recreation, knowing that our college is a place for all to enjoy in addition to future students considering credential attainment, pursuing higher education, or seeking personal enrichment.
Each spring since, as we evaluated the plan for the coming year, the engagement goal has evolved as the needs of our college and community shifted — as we faced challenges unimagined when we first established the goal.
When tragic floods devastated areas of Haywood County in August 2021, engagement was a uniting force — to provide a helping hand and be a location and connector of resources.
And when Pactiv Evergreen announced it would close the Canton paper mill in early 2023, the need for engagement shifted yet again.
During this season, HCC worked as a lead partner to provide hope, convene partners, deploy critical training, and build a foundation for our future workforce. Employees across all departments of HCC have continued to find new and deeper opportunities to engage with our community, including employer and agency partners.
In response, our instructional areas have enhanced and expanded new educational opportunities to align with changing economic and workforce needs.
Reflecting upon this season of challenge and change, the thread of engagement kept us focused on our mission and allowed us to embrace new levels of commitment to our community.
As we move into a new season, HCC has experienced increased enrollment, growing numbers of returning adult learners and dually enrolled students, and many other examples of positive momentum across campus.
- HCC is re-engaging with adult learners who disconnected from their education over the past few years. As a member of NC Reconnect, the personal, targeted approach has been a significant boost to Fall 2024 Curriculum enrollment, while Workforce Continuing Education enrollment also continues to increase.
- Industry and resource engagement at local, state, and federal levels led to expansion opportunities for new certifications, flexible programs, advanced equipment, and new facilities in workforce training. In 2025, HCC will be opening the Workforce Outdoor Training Center to offer CDL and lineworker training. Funds from the General Assembly have allowed for new equipment investments for nearly all of our Workforce and Industry programs, as well as expansion and renovations for the Workforce Training Center.
- Engagement with existing employer partners has deepened, such as with long-standing partner Haywood Regional Medical Center. With additional input from area physicians’ offices, the college redesigned our Medical Assisting program to be a one-year diploma offered in a hybrid format. After seeing declining enrollment for years, the newly designed program has 16 enrolled for Fall 2024.
- HCC is a recipient of an N.C. Department of Information Technology Digital Champion Grant, which will deploy a Digital Navigator into our community to develop and deliver technology training across Haywood County, including at community centers. In addition to training, the program will also provide much needed technology access to community members and students in the form of laptop computers.
- The Instructional Design and Information Technology departments are engaging with faculty across program areas to develop embedded virtual reality (VR) resources and are providing access to the latest best practices in artificial intelligence (AI) for educational and work environments.
- HCC continues to prioritize the work of the Regional Center for the Advancement of Children, which is operated by the college and located on our campus. With support from Dogwood Health Trust, the Center has focused on re-enforcing staffing levels, made investments in training for staff, and has returned to nearly full enrollment.
We are appreciative to EdNC for telling the stories of excellence at Haywood Early College, the persistence of Canton, and the service of Haywood Community College – of our collective community-minded mission and our critical role as a rural community college leader for positive change. With a nod of gratitude to where we have been and all our community has overcome, we turn our sights to an even brighter future.
Editor’s note: Dogwood Health Trust supports the work of EducationNC.
