This article appeared in The Daily Tar Heel, student newspaper of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on October 10, 2006. It is posted here with permission of the editors of The Daily Tar Heel.
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System heads talk education
Say collaboration benefits students
By: Lindsey Naylor, Assistant State & National Editor
Issue date: 10/10/06
GREENSBORO - The heads of North Carolina's two higher educational
systems shared policy plans and camaraderie yesterday (October 9) at
the biennial N.C. Community 
College conference.
The three-day event gives the more than 2,500 attendees a chance to
discuss possible avenues for system and state improvement.
UNC-system President Erskine Bowles and N.C. Community College
system President Martin Lancaster discussed system collaboration at
the session "A View from the Top."
"This is a chance for President Lancaster and President Bowles to
talk in a freewheeling discussion about different ideas that are
important for both of our systems," said Audrey Bailey, assistant to
the president for public information in the community college
system.
Bowles and Lancaster agreed that a seamless bond between the systems
would best serve students and the state by creating smooth
educational transitions and efficient career training.
Bowles praised the ability of community colleges to provide
technical- and career-oriented training essential to North Carolina.
"You're the people who are going to make a difference whether or not
we succeed economically as a state or as a nation," he said to the
assembled members of the community college system.
"I love the community colleges. I know I married the university, but
the community colleges have been my first love."
The two systems have collaborated since Bowles became president in
January. Joint initiatives include lateral-entry programs,
biotechnology campuses and programs encouraging post-secondary
education.
Lancaster said the cooperation is unprecedented and extends to the
systems' willingness to cross-endorse legislative budget
initiatives.
"It's a new day for education in North Carolina," he said.
The presidents said joint efforts to prepare citizens to meet the
needs of state industries are more important than ever, as
employment opportunities from the agricultural and textile
industries diminish.
"Those jobs are gone, and they're not coming back," Bowles said.
"We've got to wake up, and we've got to invest in our community
colleges and invest in our universities if we're going to create the
jobs of the future."
Lancaster suggested modularized curriculum as a way to complete a
quick, certifiable and employable educational program. And, he said,
getting students' feet in the system door could motivate them to
pursue a two- or four-year education.
"Before long they will have the building blocks to a degree without
knowing it," he said.
Other initiatives in the works include community college courses on
UNC campuses and distance courses online to generate revenue for
N.C. professors' salaries.
The presidents agreed that system communication should create a
flexible learning process to propel the N.C. economy into the
future.
"Education will be the key, and the fact of the matter is education
is not something that stops and starts," Lancaster said.
"It's a lifelong pursuit."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
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