Rowan-Cabarrus Community College

Rowan-Cabarrus improves lives and builds community through public higher education and workforce development.

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is an open door, comprehensive learning-centered institution of public higher education serving the citizens of Rowan and Cabarrus counties. The College, a part of the North Carolina Community College System, offers affordable occupational and educational programs leading to Associate in Arts degree, Associate in Engineering, Associate in Science degree, Associate in Fine Arts degree, Associate in General Education degree, and Associate in Applied Science degrees. Diplomas and certificates are awarded for other occupational, adult and continuing education programs. The College has four locations in Cabarrus County including the North Carolina Research Campus, College Station, Cabarrus Business & Technology Center and South Campus.

The primary focus of the College is workforce development, meeting the educational needs of the individual and changing requirements of the workplace. Reflecting its commitment to student learning outcomes, the College strives to inspire its students to increase their knowledge, develop occupational and technical proficiencies, respond to lifelong learning opportunities, and expand their awareness as responsible citizens in a democratic society.

As Cabarrus County’s major workforce development provider, the College needs to keep up with the fast-paced rate of growth in Cabarrus County. According to EMSI, in 2021 the region's population increased by 12.4% since 2016, growing by 25,007. Population is expected to increase by 11.4% between 2021 and 2026, adding 25,868 people. From 2016 to 2021, jobs increased by 5.8% in Cabarrus County, NC from 81,725 to 86,471. This change outpaced the national growth rate of 0.4% by 6.2%.

During the 2020-2021 Academic year, nearly 46% of our unduplicated curriculum students resided in Cabarrus County. During 2015 and 2021, Cabarrus County enrollment grew more than 4.8%. During the same time period, Cabarrus County’s population grew 4%.

• Led the way in workforce and economic development with the newly opened Advanced Technology Center.
• Landed two major corporate training partnerships with Okuma America Corporation and RJG, Inc. to locate international and national training Centers at the College’s Advanced Technology Center which will bring over 5,000 hotel nights to Cabarrus County.
• Partnered with the Cabarrus Economic Development Corporation to develop a workforce development plan that resulted in Eli Lilly Corporation selecting Cabarrus County as its new location, which is a $1 billion, 600 job commitment.
• Continued to serve as the community’s first choice for education by serving nearly 19,000 students annually.
• Seamlessly transitioned most courses to virtual instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic and implemented limited on-campus courses to ensure that our community’s front-line workers maintained critical certifications and training in hands-on fields such as nursing, firefighting, welding and more.
• Celebrated 1,419 drive-thru graduates (46% from Cabarrus County) at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
• Partnered with Cabarrus County and Kannapolis City Schools to support two successful early college programs and career and college promise participation growth in Cabarrus County.
• Secured land adjacent to South Campus with financial support from Cabarrus County and the ConnectNC Bond in anticipation of the county’s growth precipitating the need for a new master plan.

• Maintenance of existing facilities continues to be an upcoming challenge because the South Campus buildings are approximately 30 years old. These buildings are now showing age since Building 1000 was built in 1990, Building 2000 was built in 1998 and Building 3000 was built in 2008. These buildings will continue to need additional attention and upkeep.
• Prior to the pandemic, the College was on a steady growth trajectory. At this time, we anticipate curriculum enrollment will be flat for the 2021-2022 academic year since curriculum enrollment is nearly flat and continuing education enrollment is up 17%.
• Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the College continued to teach courses in-person to ensure that our community’s workforce development needs were met.
  • 56.8% of classes are being offered completely online
  • 28.6% of classes are being offered in a blended format, meaning that over 50% of the course is offered in person, however all of these classes have an online component
  • 14.6% of classes are being offered in a hybrid format, meaning that less than 50% of the course is offered in person

• Additional funding for utilities, personnel and a new Building Automation Technician position—co-funded by Rowan County—are included in the budget.

FY 2023 numbers are projections