Principal Will Carroll Discusses New North Carolina Community College Funding Model, Propel NC
Previously, North Carolina’s 58 community colleges were funded largely based on instructional hours, incentivizing schools to prioritize enrolling degree-seeking students over those in job-training courses. In this year’s annual budget, the state adopted a new community college funding model, Propel NC, under which schools now receive more money for short-term, non-degree courses that prepare students for high-demand, high-wage jobs.
The Community College System requested close to $100 million to support the funding shift in this year’s budget, including a $24.4 million request to increase funding for student support services that was ultimately denied. HCM Principal Will Carroll noted that allocating money for support services along with the new investments is vital to successfully sustaining a new funding approach.
“Even if you get more money through the formula for this sort of thing,” he said, “it does take some upfront investment of time and staff to think about how to shift your college in a way that will be successful under the new model.”
Many view the funding shift as a validation of the importance of workforce training and alignment with a national trend of tying higher education funding to labor-market outcomes. Leaders are focused on ensuring that the state sees the appropriate return on the resources invested.