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

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

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

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

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

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

RALEIGH – Make no mistake, quality pre-kindergarten matters to higher education – it has implications for third-grade reading proficiency, eighth-grade math1 and placing students on a trajectory that leads to a degree and a well-paying job. After launching its NC Pre-K program in 2001, North Carolina grew enrollment to 22% of its 4-year-olds over the… READ MORE