Students stroll through the UNC Asheville campus in a photo posted in fall 2019.
Full-time undergraduate enrollment in the University of North Carolina System remained virtually flat from fall 2019 to fall 2020, as COVID-19 changed students’ plans and the universities’ financial situations.
Enrollment increased just .12%, the smallest increase in the past five years, according to an analysis of UNC System data by the Queens University News Service. The slowdown caused financial stress for schools and strongly affected students’ college experience.
Nationally, there was a 6.8% decline of high school graduates attending college immediately after graduating high school last fall, according to the National Student Clearinghouse, a national research organization that tracks student enrollment.
/ As part of the UNC System, Western Carolina University in Cullowhee will not require students not to receive a COVID-19 vaccination before returning to classes in the 2021 fall semester.
Most students who attend colleges and universities in the Charlotte area will not be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 when they return to class this fall.
A Queens University News Service survey of 13 North Carolina colleges and universities within 65 miles of Charlotte found that at least six of the institutions will not require a vaccination.
Among the six that will not have a vaccination requirement are two with the largest enrollments: UNC Charlotte, with 30,146 students and Central Piedmont Community College, with roughly 43,000 students.
Kinston/Jones Free Press (kfp)
A bill filed last month in the North Carolina Legislature that would allow the public greater access to the personnel files of state and local government employees including teachers, law enforcement and city and county workers moved one step closer to passage this week.
Senate Bill 355, which would grant public access to information concerning terminations, suspensions and other disciplinary actions, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 27 and now heads to the Rules Committee.
If approved by the General Assembly, SB 355 will become effective Dec. 1, 2021 and will directly affect local stories covered by The Free Press involving law enforcement, the school system, and local government personnel.
5 hours ago by Liz Schlemmer (NPR)
North Carolina A&T State University is the largest HBCU in the country, and boasts more Black engineering graduates than any other university HBCU or not.
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The nation’s largest HBCU is having a blockbuster year for fundraising. North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro has raised $88 million since its fiscal year began last summer. That’s almost six times what the university typically fundraises annually and the fiscal year isn’t even over yet.