N.C. Community College System receives largest budget from State in over the past decade
Student success, innovation, and economic recovery are top priorities
RALEIGH – The N.C. Community College System is expressing thanks to our State leaders for providing a final biennial budget of $1.46B of investment in the Community College System, the largest received in over the past decade.
“The Great 58” community colleges provide affordable and accessible higher education opportunities that fuel the job engine of the state. Strong partnerships with business and industry across the state, nation, and globe enable the system to provide the skilled employees needed to meet workforce demands.
“This biennial budget reflects the critical and long-term role that the Community College System serves in our higher education and economic development ecosystems,” said NCCCS President Thomas Stith. “The appropriated State funds will help our community colleges to continue their mission of maximizing student success by providing the support, training and education needed for high-quality, high-demand, high-skilled, and high-wage careers.”
This level of funding provides much-needed salary increases for the hard-working faculty and staff of our system, as well as innovation opportunities for community colleges statewide. The FY 2021-23 state budget includes the following support for community colleges:
- Increases community college faculty and staff salaries by 5% over the biennium
- Provides bonuses for faculty and staff
- $1,500 bonus for community college faculty and staff making less than $75,000
- $1,000 bonus for community college faculty and staff making more than $75,000
- Allocates $80M in budget stabilization funding
- Allocates $28.5M to complete the modernization of the System’s Enterprise Resource Planning system
- Provides $1.5M for nine regional cybersecurity positions
- Invests $495M in capital funding for colleges in the 2021-23 biennium, with an additional $200M planned in the 2023-25 biennium
- Establishes a recruitment and retention fund for community college faculty funded at $8.6M
the first year increased to $12.3M the second year of the biennium - Allocates $15M to expand broadband access to 25 rural community colleges
- Provides $25.5M for Longleaf Commitment Grant Program, plus an additional $6M for marketing and student services
- Provides $12M to expand apprenticeship opportunities in our System, along with $2M in marketing funds.
- Provides $500,000 over the biennium to help students with intellectual developmental disabilities
- Provides $5.2M to assist community colleges with starting high-cost programs
- Allocates $1M recurring and $2M non-recurring for short-term workforce financial assistance to help students in short-term workforce training programs that lead to industry credentials
- Provides $2M to expand adult learner initiatives helping assist adults in completing degrees or credentials.
About the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS)
The North Carolina Community College System comprises “The Great 58” community colleges throughout the state. It is the third largest community college system in the nation that serves more than 500,000 students a year. The mission of the North Carolina Community College System is to open the door to high-quality, accessible educational opportunities that minimize barriers to post-secondary education, maximize student success, develop a globally and multi-culturally competent workforce, and improve the lives and well-being of individuals. Thomas A. Stith III is the president (10th). The system is governed by the State Board of Community Colleges. Students who attended NC community colleges from July 2009 to June 2019 accounted for 33% of all North Carolina wage earners, totaling 1.7M people and $60B wages earned in FY 2020.
