State Board of Community Colleges Reviews Strategic Plan Goals and Proposes Action
Goals Aim to Improve Recruitment and Retention at NCCCS and Increase Enrollment at the Great 58 to Meet the State’s Growing Workforce Needs
RALEIGH – The N.C. State Board of Community Colleges (NCSBCC) at its scheduled Planning Meeting held Sept. 14 reviewed and discussed the five-system goals of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan and proposed year one actions. The five goals of the plan focus on faculty and staff recruitment and retention, increasing access and enrollment at the state’s 58 community colleges, providing students with the resources they need inside and outside the classroom, developing the most competitive and agile workforce in the nation, and improving system funding and effectiveness. Community college presidents and system office staff jointly presented specific proposals for action for the coming year. The new Strategic Plan, Leading Through Change, is expected to be adopted by the board at the October meeting.
The State Board held its September meeting on the campus of Cleveland Community College. CCC Vice Chair Allen Langley and executive board member of the N.C. Assoc. of Community College Trustees (NCACCT) provided an update on the association. NCACCT is the professional association for about 800 trustees from the Great 58 community colleges across the state. The association focuses on legislative advocacy, trustee training and collaboration/communication with other community college partners, including the SBCC, community college presidents and the NCCCS office.
CCC also celebrated the grand opening of the Speaker Tim Moore Advanced Technology Center on Wednesday, Sept. 14. The 45,000 square foot Center houses six programs: Electrical Engineering, Automation Engineering, Industrial Systems Facilities Maintenance, Machining, and Mechanical Drafting. There is also a high-bay training space for local industry, and a dedicated suite for the Cleveland County Economic Development Partnership.
The group visited the Brown Emergency Training Center where students and instructors demonstrated training exercises used in the Firefighter Academy and other special emergency training classes. The demonstrations included the Denver Drill to rescue a trapped firefighter, a second story rescue from a burning building and an emergency response to a farm equipment accident. CCC is second in the state in terms of FTE in emergency training.
On Thursday, Sept. 15, Chair of the Governance Subcommittee on Board Engagement Mark Merritt and General Counsel Tawanda Foster Artis led a presentation on State Board Governance followed by a facilitated discussion and action plan on governance next steps led by Dr. Peg Carlson, director of the Center for Public Leadership and Governance at the UNC School of Government. The presentation highlighted the constitutional and statutory authority, as well as the statutory and fiduciary duties of State Board members. Dr. Carlson’s discussion engaged board members related to some of the recent board governance work and helped board members commit to a shared set of expectations that will facilitate successful achievement of the strategic plan goals. In addition, the Policy and Governance Committee Chair Jerry Vaughn reported significant progress on the revisions to the board’s committee charters, bylaws, and reviewed a draft of the handbook created by the System Office’s Legal Affairs team. These items will be before the board for action in October or November.
The State Board approved funding that allows the N.C. Community College System to provide strategic enrollment management training for each of the Great 58 community colleges. The training will afford colleges the opportunity to identify and think strategically about enrollment and growth opportunities. Furthermore, they will focus on how to develop and manage key components of the strategic enrollment management plan, which includes recruitment, outreach, retention, marketing and graduation. The training will help to ensure that colleges have the professional resources needed to create effective strategic plans which will better position each instructor for enrollment growth. Training will be scheduled to start in late October 2022. Campuses will be notified of training dates and location.
The State Board approved the annual report for NC Career Coach 2021-2022, a report that reflects the dedication of coaches in providing career exploration services to high school students in North Carolina. Career coaches are housed in over 140 high schools across the state and collectively provided services to 19,930 high school students this past year. Coaches are also integrated into their communities, reaching out to the workforce with 460 engagement activities. Career coaches continue to be an important part of the pipeline to community colleges in North Carolina.
The State Board also approved the annual legislative report for the Career and College Ready Graduate (CCRG) Program. The CCRG Program was developed by the N.C. Community College System in consultation with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. CCRG introduces college prep in mathematics, and reading and English curriculums in high school during the senior year and this effort will allow opportunities for college remediation for students prior to high school graduation. This program is another example of how the N.C. Community College System works with valued public school partners to provide seamless transitions into postsecondary education.
In employee news, Sondra Jarvis was approved to fill the role as director of State Board Relations. Jarvis served as executive assistant to the State Board from 2014 to 2020 before accepting a position as an education compliance examiner. Jarvis also served as interim State Board liaison since August 2022. Jarvis also served the System Office in the role of executive assistant to the chief of staff and chief financial officer from 2011 to 2014 and as technology support analyst from 2007 to 2011.
The State Board received a short report from the Presidential Search Committee tasked with leading the process to select the next system president. The committee will hold its first meeting on Sept. 21, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. The Presidential Search Committee includes the following voting members: Co-chairs Dr. Shirley Carraway and Hari Nath and the following committee members Dr. Ray Russell, Ann Whitford, Bobby Irwin, Sen. Sam Searcy, Julie Ryan, Burr Sullivan, LaTasha Bradford, Dr. David Heatherly, Dr. Bill Carver, Grant Godwin and Grayson Whitt.
About the N.C. State Board of Community Colleges (NCSBCC)
The SBCC is organized and operates in accordance with N.C. General Statute 115D-2.1, as amended by Session Law 2021-90. The Board has 22 members, 18 who are appointed to six-year terms, and four ex officio members (State treasurer, lieutenant governor, commissioner of Labor and N.C. Student Government Association president). Meetings occur the third Thursday and Friday of each month, with the exception of June and December. Read more.
