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
Flat state support for NC’s public universities
RALEIGH – As it has since 2011-12, state investment in North Carolina’s public university students remained flat last year – and still almost $2,200 a student less than before the Great Recession. State support for the University of North Carolina System shrank from about $12,600 per student before the recession to about $10,400 in 2017-18… READ MORE
Community Colleges: When graduates make as much as instructors…
RALEIGH – Community colleges are critically important to North Carolina’s workforce. At a time when 67 percent of jobs in North Carolina are projected to require education beyond high school by 2020,1 community colleges offer a more-affordable path to a degree, job-specific training and training for the trades. And North Carolinians love their community colleges… READ MORE
Where We Stand – Pre-K: Prime those 4-year-olds to learn
RALEIGH (June 12, 2019) – We’re finally starting to get it: Improved student performance starts well before kindergarten. And that means getting more 4-year-olds into high-quality pre-kindergarten. Recent research indicates that the benefits of quality Pre-K prepare a child for academic success at least through eighth grade. For several years now, academics and business executives alike… READ MORE
NC teacher pay: Keep going
RALEIGH – We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Teacher pay in North Carolina is headed in the right direction. The National Education Association released estimates in March that indicate average pay for North Carolina’s K-12 public school teachers now stands at $53,975, ranking North Carolina 29th among the states.1 That’s an increase… READ MORE
NC teacher pay: Headed in the right direction
RALEIGH (March 14, 2019) – The fact that average pay for North Carolina teachers now ranks 29th in the country is welcome news – the National Education Association released figures this week that show the state’s teachers now make an average of $53,975.1 Yes, we can quibble over averages: How particularly in a growing state,… READ MORE
NC Pre-K: 33,000 kids eligible, but can’t get it
RALEIGH (January 17, 2019) – The key to a student’s academic success is a strong foundation – and that foundation needs to be built before formal schooling even begins. So a group of North Carolina business leaders called Thursday for the state to revamp funding for its nationally recognized pre-kindergarten program so that it reaches… READ MORE
2018: Questions of leadership and governance
Our top higher-education stories of 2018 fell into several broad categories: LEADERSHIP/GOVERNANCE The year saw large questions of leadership and governance raised but not always answered. In May, the NC Board of Community Colleges named Peter Hans – a former board member with extensive experience in both community colleges and universities – as the new… READ MORE
Community Colleges: Not keeping up
RALEIGH – North Carolina’s community colleges are loved by their communities – 58 colleges throughout the state, within a 30-minute drive of 95% of North Carolinians. And they are a critical link in North Carolina’s workforce and economic development. Enrollment tends to jump at community colleges during recessions as workers seek to improve and update their… READ MORE
Universities: A shifting burden
RALEIGH – Perhaps because it has a constitutional mandate for it, North Carolina is known for support of its public universities. The state continues to rank among the best in state spending per student. But state support per student is still well below where it was before the Great Recession. And what doesn’t come from the… READ MORE