Shannon Watkins’ latest Martin Center article features an interview with Peter Hans, new president of the N.C. Community College System.
What are your top priorities for your first year as NCCCS president?
I don’t know if I’m thinking so much in terms of “first year,” because so much of our work will unfold over time. I don’t want to create an artificial construct, in that sense. Dr. Dallas Herring, who is considered the founder and the father of the community college system, from a philosophical point of view, had the right approach, which is: we must meet people where they are, and carry them as far as they can go. I think that remains the community college’s vision. We’ll also want to better align our programs with labor market demands, as well as improve post-secondary student outcomes.
There are so many challenges and opportunities that it’s going to take a little bit more than a year to see these things through successfully. My hope is to do the foundational aspects really well, and see that through and commit to it over an extended period of time. I think that will yield the best results.
We’ve seen that measuring student success in terms of graduation rates doesn’t provide the full picture of what community college has to offer. What’s a better way to measure the success of North Carolina’s community colleges?
Your question is on target in my opinion because there are limitations to the data about degree completion from community colleges. A lot of our students transfer to other institutions, and that’s not necessarily accounted for. A lot of our students run into life and don’t have the supports services around them in terms of childcare, healthcare, transportation, emergency financial assistance, etc., to help them through the bumps so that they can stay on course. Consequently, we run into a challenge with measuring “success.”
