The General Assembly has a long history of support of community colleges, but this year’s session has been one of the best in our 41-year history in terms of budget and policy support.

The General Assembly has taken a major step in adequately compensating the tireless faculty and professional staff on our campuses. Faculty salaries for North Carolina community college instructors are among the lowest in the nation and rank at the very bottom in the southeast. This budget begins the process of moving compensation toward the national average within five years. This issue was a primary focus for us this session and we appreciate the General Assembly funding this critical budget item.

The budget passed by the General Assembly is by far the largest that our System has ever received. The role that the NCCCS plays in educating and training North Carolina’s workforce is a vital part of rebuilding our economy. The General Assembly recognizes that role and has provided funds to enable our community colleges to help unemployed and underemployed individuals find and retain jobs.

The General Assembly recognizes that the community college system programs are critical to rebuilding North Carolina’s economy. The specialized training offered by our colleges requires state-of-the-art equipment and additional resources; this budget provides funds to begin to meet those growing needs.

In addition to full enrollment growth funding, legislators provided community colleges with multi-campuses and off-campus centers additional funding to help them meet the needs of a growing student population.

The North Carolina Community College System is the most capable institution in the state to turn our economy around. Thanks to the support of the General Assembly, this budget gives us resources to fulfill that mission.