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September 27, 2007
During the 2007-2008 academic year, Edgecombe Community College is celebrating 40 years of building futures in and around Edgecombe County. The school received its charter in 1967. In 1968, 64 students began classes at what was then known as Edgecombe County Technical Institute. Auto mechanics, cosmetology, welding, and a handful of other courses were offered. Today the college serves about 2,200 students each semester and offers 79 degree, diploma, and certificate programs. Add those students who are taking advantage of about 900 continuing education courses, and ECC will serve roughly 10,500 individuals this year. On October 3 and 4, the college will celebrate its 40th anniversary. The public is invited to attend a Dedication and Renewal Ceremony on the Tarboro campus on Wednesday, October 3, from noon to 2 p.m. in Keihin Auditorium. A reception will follow in Mobley Atrium. Campus tours and program demonstrations will be held from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. The public also is invited to attend a Dedication and Renewal Ceremony
on the Rocky Mount campus on Thursday, October 4, from noon to 2 p.m.
under a tent. A reception will follow. Campus tours and program demonstrations
will be held from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. The times they are a changin’ Over the past 40 years, advances in technology have radically changed the landscape of education. ECC now offers flexible scheduling and a variety of online courses not available to students in the early years. Online courses are based on the same course content and materials that serve as the foundation for on-campus classes. However, students rely on the Internet and email to supplement textbooks for much of the instruction. Online courses and courses that meet in a classroom have the same rigor. Only their delivery system and the method in which students interact with the instructor are different. The list of online offerings is expanding rapidly. In 2005, the college offered 43 online courses, and 518 students took online classes. In 2006, these figures had increased to 79 online courses with 705 students enrolled in them. ECC has a long-standing tradition of strong partnerships with local schools. Afternoon College, a new program for Edgecombe high school students, began this fall on the Tarboro campus. The Afternoon College includes 13 academies, leading to a possible 16 certificates, and 10 college transfer courses. Students leave with real-world skills that will help them get a job, and if they want to continue at ECC or at a four-year school, they’re a step ahead of the pack. Online course offerings and more partnerships with Edgecombe schools
are just two of the ways in which ECC is changing higher education in
Edgecombe County. The college is well-positioned to maintain a leadership
edge in the way students of the future access and use post-secondary
education. 40 years of building futures In 1968, few people would have envisioned what ECC has become in 2007. Classes began in an old prison building west of Tarboro. The Tarboro campus now comprises eight buildings on 120 acres, with another building under way. Ground was broken in early 2007 for a new facility for the cosmetology program. The 7,000-square-foot structure is being built south of the Arts, Civic and Technology Center, and it will include classroom and lab space for some 90 students. The Rocky Mount campus has two buildings on one city block. Discussions and plans are under way to construct a $12 million ECC Community Health Education Center. The 46,400-square-foot, four-story center will house five of the college’s ten allied health programs, as well as a primary care clinic, a mental health and rehab unit, a simulated hospital, and possibly a dental clinic. Remaining true to the institution’s mission of “fulfilling the educational, training, and cultural needs of the community” will require a combination of leadership and innovation, not to mention respect for the past and an enthusiasm for the future. Luckily, ECC already has 40 years of experience doing just that.
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823-5166 Rocky
Mount: (252) 446-0436 |
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