NC community colleges to lead recovery RALEIGH – North Carolina’s community colleges will lead the state through the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the system’s president says. Community colleges will not only retrain displaced workers – they will offer a path for high-school graduates and those seeking a career change, N.C. Community College System President Thomas Stith III says in the accompanying video.  “We compete globally,” Stith says. “The announcement with Apple – we’re not in competition with South Carolina. We’re in competition with the whole country and a global market. Apple can locate anywhere in the world, but they want to ensure they have a properly trained workforce.” Similarly, Google recently announced an engineering hub in Durham – and about half the jobs at Google won’t require four-year degrees. “They’ll come from the community college system,” Stith says. “We have to have the talent in the classroom to help train and educate those individuals. Because that’s what the employers want to know – do we have the workforce in North Carolina to compete in a global manner?” Watch video >> |
|
 Support community colleges to make it happen RALEIGH – To lead North Carolina’s economic recovery, the state’s community colleges will need support from the General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper, the NC Community College System’s president says. In the accompanying video, System President Thomas Stith III lays out what he calls a “moderate” agenda for this year’s legislative session.  First and foremost, he says, college faculty and staff must be properly compensated. Pay increases will be needed “to ensure that we have the proper talent in the classroom to educate students,” Stith says. Budget stabilization funds will also be necessary to work through the pandemic and recovery, he says. And information technology across the system needs to be modernized for payroll, human resources and student records. And if legislators decide to address construction needs with bonds or another approach, “The Community College System has identified over $2 billion worth of capital needs,” Stith says. “…A half-a-billion dollars in repair and renovation, and a little over a billion-and-a-half in new construction.” Watch video >> |
|
 41st? Support community college faculty, staff RALEIGH – Raises for faculty and staff are at the top of the NC Community Colleges’ legislative agenda this year. “We’re the third-largest system in the country, yet our faculty and staff – those individuals that day in and day out provide educational instruction to our students – rank 41st in the nation (in pay),” NC Community College System President Thomas Stith III says in the accompanying video.  In fact, community-college instructors make less on average than K-12 public school teachers. “So we requested a minimum of a 5% increase as the first step to be competitive in the national market that we operate in,” Stith says. Watch video >> |
|
 Community colleges: Affordable, accessible, high quality CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina’s community colleges will be pivotal to meeting the state’s goal of 2 million people with degrees or high-quality credentials by 2030, says UNC System President Peter Hans. “If we’re to achieve the goal of 2 million more North Carolinians by 2030, community colleges really will be at the center of that strategy,” Hans says in the accompanying video.  Hans served as NC Community College System President before he became UNC System President. The state’s 58 community colleges are easily accessible in virtually every community in the state, he says. They provide short-term workforce training to help workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy. Or they can provide an affordable start toward a four-year degree. “The community colleges and the affordable, accessible, high-quality education they provide are going to be critical if we’re going to meet the 2 million by 2030 goal,” Hans says. Watch video >> |
|
