By Sarah Campbell
scampbell@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY ó Rowan-Cabarrus Community College officials highlighted the collegeís response to growing enrollment numbers in the 2010 Annual Report, presented to the board of trustees on Monday.
The college saw record-breaking enrollment in 2010, with the student body jumping by 16 percent in the spring and another 4.5 percent in the fall.
The amount of federal financial aid distributed to students in 2010-11 increase 77.6 percent over the previous year to $15.1 million.
More than 4,290 students received Pell Grants, a 38 percent increase.
ěWe are really seeing an increase in the socioeconomic needs of our students,î said Gaye McConnell, vice president in student services.
Those increases prompted the college to focus its efforts on streamlining operations and enhancing student services.
The college has ramped up its efforts to get students to register online using the WebAdvisor program.
More than 5,200 students out of 7,000 registered through the system last fall, an increase of 905 percent from the previous fall.
ěYou can see how much that has been embraced by our students,î McConnell said.
The number of classes offered through alternative delivery methods such as distance learning have also increased to 1,058 this year, up from 236 in 2005-06.
The college has also added an associateís of fire protection technology and machining to meet growing interests.
ěStudents in those occupations can develop career pathways and get better jobs,î said Jeanie Moore, vice president of corporate and continuing education. ěOur machining graduates are typically hired and placed in jobs before they even graduate.î
School officials say theyíve also reached out to the community to provide additional resources for students.
ěCollaborative learning is our primary focus,î McConnel said. ěWe want to enhance and establish real world experiences for our students.î
Almost 200 students participated in cooperative education with 148 local companies last year. Thirteen of those students were biotechnology majors.
ěThey were actually working with scientists generating their own free agents,î said Rod Townley, vice president of academic progress.
The college has focused on short-term training and work skills enhancement by encouraging students to obtain career readiness certificates, which assess student preparedness for work. More than 1,000 certificates were issued last year.
ěThatís more than any other community college in North Carolina,î Moore said.
Career development services were provided to 1,431 people through the campus and 1,135 through the R3 Center.
The Vision 20/20 advisory board, made up of 36 faculty, staff and students, was also developed last year to provide feedback about issues ranging from campus security to the Rowan County bond issue.
The annual report also includes information about the Rowan County bond referendum, initiatives at the N.C. Research Campus, community engagement and assessment of programs and resources.
The complete report will be available online at www.rccc.edu later this week.
Contact reporter Sarah Campbell at 704-797-7683.