VGCC Grows, Adapts To Community Needs
Vance-Granville Community College continues to grow and grow.
Each new semester seems to bring record enrollment as the people of Vance, Granville, Warren and Franklin counties look to the college to train, and re-train, them for meaningful employment in the changing economy.
Fall Semester 2001 saw 3,744 students enrolled in curriculum programs leading to associate degrees and diplomas, while 3,710 curriculum students signed up for classes in Spring Semester 2002. Both of these enrollments marked significant increases over the previous years.
In addition, more and more people are studying in occupational extension classes designed to help them obtain better, higher-paying employment or to advance in their current jobs. Literacy programs are also filled as citizens realize they need a GED or adult high school diploma to have a chance to become competitive in the workplace.
More than 16,000 people – or one in every seven eligible adults in the Vance-Granville Community College service area – are taking at least one class at the college each year.
There are numerous reasons for the enrollment growth at Vance-Granville. “Students come to us partially because of the economic slowdown in our community,” said VGCC President Robert A. Miller. “Unemployment rates have risen in the four counties we serve.”
As a result, Vance-Granville is re-training more and more displaced workers with new skills to give them a chance for meaningful employment.
But the enrollment growth has also occurred because of expansion of the college’s offerings. “We now offer more than 35 diploma and degree programs with curriculum opportunities that will lead to good jobs for our graduates,” President Miller said. “We’ve added classes at alternative times, weekends and early mornings, for example, to make it more convenient for our students. Mini-semester classes have benefited students who need to compress 16 weeks of instruction into eight weeks.”
Vance-Granville Community College is always looking for new ways to serve its communities. In recent years, the college has added the Human Services Technology program to train personnel for employment in social services institutions and agencies. A Network Administration and Support program has been added to prepare students to install and support computer networks.
At the request of several area biotechnology industries, and with their assistance, Vance-Granville has developed a Bioworks program to train operators for biotechnology, pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturers. This course is offered in the new Biotechnology Laboratory at VGCC’s Franklin County Campus. From the beginning, the class has been so popular that additional classes had to be added to accommodate the demand to train workers for this growing, high-paying field.
Responding to the high demand for nursing assistants in the four-county area served by Vance-Granville, the college has added new classes in this specialty at all four of its campuses. During Fall Semester 2001, VGCC trained more than 250 new nursing assistants and had to turn away several applicants at the main campus because of lack of space.
Beginning in Fall Semester 2002, VGCC will offer, subject to availability of funds, two new associate degree programs – Internet Technologies and Electronic Commerce. Internet Technologies will prepare students to create and implement services in the rapidly-growing Internet field. Electronic Commerce will be a concentration in the current Business Administration program and will prepare students in the principles of using the Internet for business, or E-Commerce.
Vance-Granville’s growth has not come without challenges. Increased enrollment would normally bring expansion money from the state to meet the increased needs in serving these students. However, the state’s dire economic situation has resulted in community colleges facing cuts in state appropriations and, in fact, colleges have had to revert to the state some previously-allocated funds.
Because of effective planning, the college has managed to avoid cutting any programs or instructors thus far. “But we are deeply concerned about the consequences of a tight budget situation and the cuts we may experience,” President Miller said. “With all the growth we have had, we need the resources to serve these students properly.”
Increased enrollment has also created a strain on Vance-Granville Community College’s physical facilities, but help in this area is on the way. The college will get $17.1 million in construction and renovation funds from the Higher Education Facilities bond referendum approved by North Carolina voters in November 2000. These bonds will be sold over six years and, as theses funds become available, Vance-Granville plans to build a new classroom building at each of its four campuses.
Funds have been received for the first of these, a 50,000 square-foot, three-story building on the main campus in Vance County to house technology, literacy and public services programs. Architectural plans for this building have been submitted to the State Construction Office. If approval is received as expected, the project will go out for bid in May, and construction should begin in June, with completion of the building expected in about 14 months.
Planning has begun for the second building, to be constructed on the Warren County Campus in Warrenton.
President Miller said: “These are exciting and challenging times for our citizens who are preparing for their futures, and we at Vance-Granville Community College are excited about our opportunity to provide the education and training to help them be successful in their endeavors. I offer you my pledge that all we do at Vance-Granville Community College will continue to be for the benefit of the most important people on our campuses – our students.”
