The original idea behind community colleges was that they’d offer useful, vocational instruction for students who weren’t interested in four-year colleges. In many states, they have drifted somewhat away from that concept, trying to be more like “real” colleges, and in doing so have lost some of their value.
North Carolina is moving to get back to the original idea with changes that will better match the state’s community colleges with the needs of the labor market. In today’s Martin Center article, Jenna Robinson writes about this move:
The workforce sectors that will receive special consideration under the new proposal were presented at a November State Board of Community Colleges meeting. They include “engineering and advanced manufacturing,” “trades and transportation,” “information technology,” “public safety and first responders,” two healthcare categories, two categories for “other technical courses,” and “customized training and small business center[s].” The relative weight of each category will be reevaluated every three years based on job demand and salary data.
That sounds good, but the leaders of the system should also take steps to repel the invasion of DEI garbage that Jonathan Butcher wrote about in this piece.