RALEIGH (March 23, 2022) – Jim and Ann Goodnight understand the value of community-college students who transfer to universities. The Goodnight Scholars Program that they launched in 2008 is NC State University’s largest scholarship program; it is expected to grow to 350 or more students. In 2017, the program began gradually increasing the number of… READ MORE
Forsyth Tech: What is it that Stokes County needs?
WALNUT COVE (March 17, 2022) – When Forsyth Technical Community College set out to start a campus in Stokes County, college officials didn’t assume – they asked. “We try to meet the individual needs of the counties that we serve,” Forsyth Tech President Janet Spriggs says in the accompanying video, explaining that the college serves… READ MORE
‘Customized training just for them’
WINSTON-SALEM (March 17, 2022) – One of the reasons they’re called community colleges is they provide precisely the training that local employers – and employees – need. “At Forsyth Technical Community College, that means we work with employers like Reynolds American,” President Janet Spriggs says in the accompanying video. “We provide for them education –… READ MORE
‘Free’ community college? ‘That’s crazy’
WALNUT COVE (March 9, 2022) – ‘Free’ is a loaded term – somebody has to pay. But education leaders say free community-college tuition could help lift more North Carolina students out of poverty. “Community college tuition in North Carolina is an extremely good deal,” Forsyth Technical Community College President Janet Spriggs says in the accompanying… READ MORE
Background: NC and ‘free’ community college
RALEIGH (March 9, 2022) – The Republicans in Tennessee get it. In 2014, the state legislature and then-Gov. Bill Haslam approved Tennessee Promise, which let the state’s recent high-school graduates attend community college free of tuition and fees. In its first year, the program boosted the college-going rate of Tennessee high-school graduates by 6 percentage… READ MORE
Forsyth Tech Cares: Help when life happens
WINSTON-SALEM (March 3, 2022) – Life just happens to many community college students. Many have jobs. Some have children. Some have unreliable cars. Some don’t have a computer. Some need to put down security deposits. Some can’t afford groceries. Forsyth Tech Cares is an effort Forsyth Technical Community College launched in the early days of… READ MORE
Pitt VISIONS: ‘If we just helped four or five students…’
GREENVILLE (February 23, 2022) – At the outset in 2004, Eddie Smith thought his family’s support might help four or five students at Pitt Community College. It’s since helped more than 1,200. The family foundation run by Smith, the owner and CEO of Grady-White Boats in Greenville, has poured more than $4 million into VISIONS,… READ MORE
Stith: Wraparound support for students
RALEIGH (February 23, 2022) – North Carolina’s community colleges don’t help students just in the classroom. They also provide students with the support they need to make college work. The colleges know many of their students have children or a full-time job to perform at the same time they try to earn a degree or… READ MORE
Community College: Seamless pathway to a four-year degree
RALEIGH (February 16, 2022) – As tuition at four-year universities climbed over the past decade,1 increasing numbers of students chose to start their college careers at one of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges. “We provide two-year associate’s degrees, but also a seamless transition for those individuals that want to pursue a four-year degree,” Thomas Stith… READ MORE
A new, more affordable way to become a teacher
GREENVILLE (February 16, 2022) – In a state with a growing population but a shortage of teachers, North Carolina’s state colleges and universities offer a new way to make college both more accessible and more affordable for would-be teachers. NC Community College System President Thomas Stith III notes in the accompanying video that the Community… READ MORE