RALEIGH (December 29, 2021) – 2021 was slightly less chaotic than 2020, with distribution of vaccines that temporarily calmed the coronavirus pandemic before new variants began to emerge. The state also saw its first new budget in three years, with much-needed raises for higher education faculty and staff and generous investments in capital projects. It’s… READ MORE
Project Kitty Hawk takes flight
RALEIGH (November 17, 2021) – UNC System leaders have launched an ambitious effort called Project Kitty Hawk to use online offerings to reach adult learners in North Carolina. The state budget released this week includes $97 million for the project, which involves creating a nonprofit organization that would provide a platform to offer online programs.1… READ MORE
LatinxEd: ‘Freedom to create a better future’
CHAPEL HILL (October 21, 2021) – The college admission process is complicated as it is. Just imagine trying to navigate it in a new language: Acronyms like SAT, ACT and FAFSA1 to translate. Schedules for new tests and varying deadlines for applications to different schools. Those are just some of the barriers the children of… READ MORE
UNC System enrollment continues to climb
CHAPEL HILL (Sept. 16, 2021) – Despite a global pandemic that clamped down activity nationwide, the University of North Carolina System saw record enrollment this fall for the fourth year in a row. “We are among the fortunate few to see enrollment growth – and that is not true across the nation,” UNC Board of… READ MORE
ONE TEAM: UNC System, K-12, Community Colleges
CHAPEL HILL – As North Carolina pursues a goal to have 2 million people with post-secondary educations by 2030, the Chair of the UNC Board of Governors thinks the University System can do a better job communicating with other levels of education. “One thing I’d like to see us do a better job of …… READ MORE
Cooper announces aid for community-college students
RALEIGH (May 26, 2021) – A new directive from Gov. Roy Cooper will make $31.5 million available to help graduating high-school seniors attend North Carolina community colleges, as well as $12.5 million to help students who stopped out of college return to finish their degrees. In all, Cooper announced Monday that he will direct $51… READ MORE
Community colleges: Affordable, accessible, high quality
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina’s community colleges will be pivotal to meeting the state’s goal of 2 million people with degrees or high-quality credentials by 2030, says UNC System President Peter Hans. “If we’re to achieve the goal of 2 million more North Carolinians by 2030, community colleges really will be at the center of that strategy,”… READ MORE
2 million educated by 2030
RALEIGH (May 5, 2021) – When’s the last time North Carolina’s K-12 public schools, community colleges, public and private universities, as well as its business, philanthropic and faith communities, all agreed on a course of action? It’s hard to recall, but that’s what they’ve done by adopting a goal to make sure North Carolinians are… 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
Hans: Raising out-of-state cap a ‘win-win-win’
CHAPEL HILL – There’s a case to be made for raising the limit on out-of-state students at some UNC System campuses. “I’ve supported increasing the cap on out-of-state students in their first year from 18% to 25% for our five Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” UNC System President Peter Hans says in the accompanying video…. READ MORE