RALEIGH (March 30, 2022) – It’s shameful. North Carolina’s community colleges are a linchpin of economic development and social mobility in our state. Yet what we pay instructors at those colleges is shameful. From a national perspective, North Carolina’s community college instructors rank even lower than our K-12 public school teachers. “The North Carolina Community… READ MORE
Community Colleges: The Swiss Army knives of higher ed
RALEIGH (February 9, 2022) – They’re the Swiss Army knives of higher education. That’s because North Carolina’s community colleges do so many different things, whether it’s helping a student complete a GED, learn a skilled trade, train for a specific job with a local employer, earn an associate degree in a high-demand field, or transfer… READ MORE
Project Kitty Hawk takes shape
CHAPEL HILL (January 20, 2022) – With $97 million from a new state budget, Project Kitty Hawk – the UNC System’s online learning platform – is rapidly taking shape. And it aims to make it easier for adult learners to earn a degree. With the population of traditional college-age students projected to level off over… READ MORE
2021: Return to not quite normal
RALEIGH (December 29, 2021) – 2021 was slightly less chaotic than 2020, with distribution of vaccines that temporarily calmed the coronavirus pandemic before new variants began to emerge. The state also saw its first new budget in three years, with much-needed raises for higher education faculty and staff and generous investments in capital projects. It’s… READ MORE
NC budget: ‘A remarkable start on a new era’
RALEIGH (November 18, 2021) – For the first time in three years, it looks like North Carolina will have a budget for 2021-23. After extended negotiations between Gov. Roy Cooper, Senate President Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, the General Assembly is voting this week on a plan that would spend $25.9 billion in… READ MORE
Hans: ‘Multiple paths to success and respect’
RALEIGH (November 16, 2021) – Peter Hans is the seventh president of the University of North Carolina System. But he’s the first in his family to graduate from college. So as he was inaugurated Tuesday on the 50th anniversary of creation of the System, Hans, 51, stressed that the University must be open to a… READ MORE
Project Kitty Hawk takes flight
RALEIGH (November 17, 2021) – UNC System leaders have launched an ambitious effort called Project Kitty Hawk to use online offerings to reach adult learners in North Carolina. The state budget released this week includes $97 million for the project, which involves creating a nonprofit organization that would provide a platform to offer online programs.1… READ MORE
UNC System enrollment continues to climb
CHAPEL HILL (Sept. 16, 2021) – Despite a global pandemic that clamped down activity nationwide, the University of North Carolina System saw record enrollment this fall for the fourth year in a row. “We are among the fortunate few to see enrollment growth – and that is not true across the nation,” UNC Board of… READ MORE
Hans: ‘We’ve got to reach more adult learners’
CHAPEL HILL (April 28, 2021) – Birth rates dropped during the Great Recession – many families weren’t sure of their futures. And 13 years later, colleges and universities are preparing to face the consequences. The population of 18- to 24-year-olds nationwide is projected to decline in coming years, with precipitous drops in the Northeast and… READ MORE
The draw of UNC Asheville
ASHEVILLE – Nancy J. Cable suspected she’d like being UNC Asheville’s chancellor. But it’s even better than she thought. “This is a gem within the UNC System, and it’s been known a long time as a gem,” Cable says in the accompanying video, citing UNC Asheville’s strength in academics and the humanities in particular. The… READ MORE