RALEIGH – To lead North Carolina’s economic recovery, the state’s community colleges will need support from the General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper, the NC Community College System’s president says. In the accompanying video, System President Thomas Stith III lays out what he calls a “moderate” agenda for this year’s legislative session. First and foremost,… READ MORE
41st? Support community college faculty, staff
RALEIGH – Raises for faculty and staff are at the top of the NC Community Colleges’ legislative agenda this year. “We’re the third-largest system in the country, yet our faculty and staff – those individuals that day in and day out provide educational instruction to our students – rank 41st in the nation (in pay),”… READ MORE
Hans: ‘We’ve got to reach more adult learners’
CHAPEL HILL (April 28, 2021) – Birth rates dropped during the Great Recession – many families weren’t sure of their futures. And 13 years later, colleges and universities are preparing to face the consequences. The population of 18- to 24-year-olds nationwide is projected to decline in coming years, with precipitous drops in the Northeast and… READ MORE
Higher ed must get better at second chances
By Eric Johnson North Carolina is entering a strange economic moment. Less than a year after the sharpest recession in modern history, the state is poised for a booming recovery. After peaking at 13.5% in May of last year, state unemployment now stands at 5.2%. But that’s not the whole story. There are two ways… READ MORE
CEOs: A moral obligation to our youngest readers
CARY (April 14, 2021) – In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and learning losses among the state’s most vulnerable students, North Carolina needs to double down on early-childhood education and literacy, a group of prominent CEOs said today. “COVID learning losses have impacted our youngest students the hardest – and particularly our students of… READ MORE
Don Flow: The case for NC education investments
EDITOR’S NOTE: As state legislators returned to Raleigh recently for their 2021 session, Winston-Salem businessman Don Flow shared the following thoughts with legislative leaders. By Don Flow America is in the midst of enormous turmoil, with rural whites and urban blacks caught in the same undercurrent. Although they express their frustration and anger in different ways… READ MORE
A modest ask of state legislators for 2021-22
CHAPEL HILL (Nov. 19, 2020) – Anticipating a difficult budget year, the UNC System Board of Governors adopted budget and legislative priorities for 2021-22 today that reflect the core mission of the University System, but also its intention to reduce employees. “I think we’ve been very modest with our ask,” board Chair Randy Ramsey said…. READ MORE
2019: The turmoil continues
Turmoil continued through 2019 among the leadership of individual UNC campuses and the UNC System itself. A new state budget for 2019-21 still hasn’t been adopted; raises for K-12 teachers and higher education faculty are still on hold. And the fate of a statue continued to divert energy from the university’s more noble pursuits. Yet… READ MORE
Who would apply?
ELIZABETH CITY – Randy Ramsey is just settling in as Chair of the UNC Board of Governors. But he deserves credit for wanting to rein in at least one rogue board member for launching personal investigations outside the board’s processes. Ramsey is also co-chair of the committee overseeing the search for yet another UNC System… READ MORE
Plenty of tricks, not many treats
RALEIGH – Perhaps it’s appropriate the 2019 General Assembly adjourned on Halloween, because the inability of the legislature and the governor to come to terms on a budget for the next two years leaves North Carolina with a sense of foreboding. Here’s where we stand: The legislature passed a budget that included average raises of… READ MORE