North Carolina Community College System President H. Martin Lancaster hosts the annual meeting of the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges.  The gathering will provide an opportunity for North Carolina to showcase two of its community colleges and highlight some of the important current System programs.

The conference will be held at the Sheraton Atlantic Beach Oceanfront Resort.  The welcome reception is on Sunday, August 6 and sessions begin at 8:30 AM on Monday, August 7.  The conference concludes on Wednesday, August 9.

The State Director’s Council is an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges.  It is the only council that represents the collective interest of state agencies and state boards of community colleges.  This council is a valuable forum to help state directors deal with the changes in attitude and policies towards community colleges at the federal, state and local levels.  Participants share information and learn lessons from each other to better serve the interests of the educational institutions.

"North Carolina has led the way in many areas of the community college mission," said Lancaster.  "I am pleased to have an opportunity to share our story first-hand with my counterparts from across the country. We will discuss our similar concerns and celebrate our successes.  Our respective systems will benefit from this exchange."

There are two major presentations scheduled for the conference. Robert McCabe, Senior Fellow, League for Innovation in the Community College will offer results of his study on the outcomes of students who have been enrolled remedial education programs on Monday morning.

On Tuesday morning, Mark David Milliron, President and Chief Executive Officer, also from the League for Innovation, will focus on education in a digital economy.  Milliron will present a framework for thinking about technology in education and what he calls a "digital democracy."  He will explore the enormous changes brought on by the digital age and the associated challenges, including the emergence of the "digital divide."

The NCCCS recently took a major step toward bridging the digital divide that exists within the system with the launching of the first ten courses of the Virtual Learning Community. These are easily adaptable on-line courses available for use by all colleges in the NCCCS.  While most North Carolina community colleges offer on-line classes, there are some that have not. The VLC offers a way for the more advanced colleges to share their progress with those still struggling to develop their Internet programs.

A tour of Craven Community College in New Bern on Tuesday afternoon will culminate with a panel discussion on collaboration and cooperation between community colleges and universities.  The state directors will then tour Carteret Community College in Morehead City to see such a collaborative program in action.  The Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) is a cooperative program in marine science jointly developed by Carteret CC and North Carolina State University.

Participation in this year’s conference exceeds that of last year.  Thirty-five states will have representation at the meeting. Lancaster feels the successful participation is, in part, a tribute to the prominence of the North Carolina System.

The North Carolina Community College System, with more than 759,000 students, is the third largest community college system in the United States.  The System is the state’s primary agency for delivery of job training, literacy and adult education programs.

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