North Carolina Community Colleges Hit Record Enrollment

North Carolina community colleges enrolled more students than at any time since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth reached four times the national average, according to data presented to the State Board of Community Colleges on March 20. Full-time equivalent enrollment has jumped 23% since the pandemic's low point in fall 2020.

Curriculum enrollment has climbed 12% since fall 2019. Nationally, the figure stands at just 3%, according to National Student Clearinghouse data. The state now enrolls 49% of its undergraduate students at community colleges, while the national rate sits at 37%.

Population growth couldn't keep pace with this surge. Scott Ottman, a board member, pointed out that North Carolina's population grew by only 7% during this same period — roughly one-third the rate.

"Being No. 1 in business and No. 1 in workforce, we just need to keep being No. 1 and keep getting better and comparing ourselves to others to make ourselves strive to be the best that we can be," said board member John Kane, according to Carolina Journal. "The enthusiasm is contagious, and we're excited about continuing on."

These gains spread across both urban and rural areas. Among the system's 58 colleges, 53 grew in the most recent year. Fourteen grew by more than 10%.

James Sprunt Community College, a small rural institution, led all schools with 83% growth since 2018-19. Among 38 colleges that have grown since 2018-19, seven saw full-time equivalent enrollment growth exceed 30%.

Online and hybrid instruction has transformed how students learn. Just 23% of curriculum full-time equivalent students now take traditional in-person courses. Before COVID, nearly half did.

"That took a lot of work and effort on the part of our faculty, staff, and administration at each college to find the right recipe on how to adapt and evolve to serve their communities and their students," said Dale McInnis, strategic planning committee chair for the NC Community College System, according to WFDD.

Students taking online and hybrid classes now make up more than 75% of total enrollment. In 2019, about half did.

"What we're facing is not the enrollment cliff that we've been hearing about so much with the declining number of 18-year-olds," McInnis said. "What we're facing is a capacity ceiling because this growth is not sustainable."

Workforce gaps persist despite record enrollment. Just over 9,000 students completed credentials in trades and transportation in 2024-25, against more than 71,000 average annual job openings.

The system's top legislative priority for the 2026 short session is Propel NC, a proposed funding model that would match state appropriations with labor market demand. The proposal includes $68.5 million in recurring funding to implement this new model, $24.4 million in recurring funds for base modernization, and $6 million in nonrecurring funding for an enrollment growth reserve.