Marty Kotis, a member of the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors, for years has pushed for more online learning programs from UNC’s college campuses. He hasn’t gathered much support, but that may change now that the coronavirus pandemic is uprooting traditional higher education. “I hate that this is what it takes for...
The State Board of Community Colleges has issued new measures to increase flexibility for students and teachers as they adjust to the national COVID-19 outbreak. Community colleges are now allowed to apply tuition, registration fees, and other fees for spring 2020 courses to the coming summer, fall, and spring semesters. Colleges will also follow the...
Most of us can’t remember a time of such widespread disruption. The spread of coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the economy, on families, on how and where we work, on how we live and communicate. Our health care system is fragile and stretched. The roles of government and private markets, however, are being clarified and, in...
Community college classes are canceled or moving online through the end of the month as COVID-19 spreads in North Carolina. N.C. Community College System president Peter Hans has advised colleges to make plans to keep classes online for at least eight weeks, or until the end of the semester. Colleges say they might extend the...
From health care workers to wait staff, from ride-share drivers to truck drivers, North Carolinians, like the rest of the country, are in for a rough few weeks, possibly even a rough few months or more. Demanding that the federal government act isn’t a solution. It’s a delay that we can’t afford. Not right now....
On St. Patrick’s Day, Cary’s Carolina Ale House — decorated with Irish food and drink ads — wasn’t teeming with its usual swarm of thirsty, hungry customers. Instead, at 7:30 p.m., the rough hewn doors creaked open to an empty dining room. Empty bar. Empty waiting area. The TVs were black. The music silenced. “You...
K-12 public schools are closing for two weeks and universities are moving classes online to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. These decisions are affecting students without internet access, but Charter Communications has offered a solution. Charter is giving free Spectrum broadband and wi-fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 or college students...
If a Florida parent wants to see the personnel file for their child’s public school teacher, the school would hand it over. In North Carolina, that parent probably would be turned away, said media lawyer John Bussian, who represents Carolina Journal and other media outlets. That’s one reason North Carolinians should care about Sunshine Week...
In North Carolina, the golden ticket for resident college hopefuls is $1,000 yearly tuition at a handful of public universities. But while the offer looks shiny, the final receipt may stun new students. The General Assembly in 2016 made major tuition cuts at three University of North Carolina System campuses. The program, NC Promise, charges...
Carolina Journal recently broke the news that the N.C. Department of Transportation had purchased a former circus train and parked its cars in a wooded area near Spring Hope in Nash County. The CJ story stirred up interest in the transaction among lawmakers who oversee the DOT. It’s just the latest example of the impact...
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College has food pantries on its campuses — for its teachers. Full-time professors at North Carolina’s community colleges earn less than K-12 teachers. Their average pay is $51,478 — some $2,500 less than the average salary of K-12 teachers — and community colleges say that’s not enough to hire or keep teachers. ...
