VGCC official appointed to state commission

Vance-Granville Community College Director of Distance Education Evelyn Harris (pictured above) has been appointed to a new statewide commission that coordinates distance learning at all North Carolina community colleges. The Commission on Learning Technologies (COLT) was recently established by the North Carolina Community College System as distance learning, primarily consisting of online classes, becomes increasingly popular.

“As our system addresses the need for a robust innovative distance learning strategy, it is critical for key community college personnel to come together with System Office staff and representatives from professional associations to collaborate on policies and procedures for distance education in our system,” said Dr. Saundra W. Williams, the chairperson of the commission and the system’s senior vice president for technology and workforce development. Williams said that during the 2008-2009 year, there were over 588,787 enrollments in curriculum (credit) distance learning courses throughout the state system. That represented a 37.88 per cent increase from the previous year.

Williams has appointed Harris co-chair of the COLT Policy Committee, which will be charged with oversight of the organizational structure of the commission; budget and funding strategies; and legislative and policy procedures.

A Granville County resident, Harris has worked at VGCC since 1995. She earned an associate degree at Louisburg College, a bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an M.B.A. at Wake Forest University. Harris is the president-elect of the North Carolina Community College Association of Distance Learning (NC3ADL). She is set to become president of the association in 2011.

For more information about taking online VGCC courses for college credit, call Evelyn Harris at (252) 492-2061, ext. 3254 or visit the college’s Distance Education web site .