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College of Education
Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research

Research and Insights

We equip community college leaders with reliable insights they can act on quickly.

Our research team supports colleges and their leaders by exploring state and national trends and identifying evidence-based practices that advance student outcomes and institutional innovation.

Reports and Briefs

Actionable research and data about community colleges produced by the Belk Center’s research team

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Resource Guide

Information and tools from our national and community partners advancing student success

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Trailblazer Profiles

Narrative-shifting highlights of the work of leaders in the North Carolina Community College System, as part of the NCCCS History Project.

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The Community College Practice-Research-Policy Exchange

National initiative equipping college stakeholders with empirical insights and learner-driven practices

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PACE Climate Survey

Employee-informed survey of culture and capacity on college campuses to promote student success

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Two colleagues are seated at a meeting discussing a project.

LATEST RESEARCH

April 07, 2026

Exploring Intent to Transfer at North Carolina Community Colleges

This brief focuses on how professionals at North Carolina community colleges capture information about students’ intentions to transfer to baccalaureate degree-granting institutions and how colleges respond to shifts in students’…

February 27, 2026

Department Chairs as Change Agents for Compressed Academic Terms

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 68% of community college students enroll part-time and, among those students, only 19% graduate within six years. Research on part-time student completion…

February 25, 2026

Eight-Week Advantage: Improving Outcomes in Career and Technical Education through Half-Semester Scheduling

Adult learners, those over the age of 25, make up more than 20% of curriculum enrollments in the North Carolina Community College System. These students often balance personal and professional…

Insights that serve students.

Student success depends on all of us – leaders, educators, policymakers and philanthropists – implementing and refining transformative, student-centered practices. Our action-oriented insights reflect North Carolina’s realities and can be trusted to guide decisions that advance student success.

Insights that Serve Students
The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research at North Carolina State University was a key resource and led many of the breakout sessions during the North Carolina Community College System Conference held at the Raleigh Convention Center on Monday, Octiber 14, 2024. The center provided their staff and faculty with headshots and a team photo. Additionally, the meeting was documented by photographing the meeting and staging some working/people-in-action images for marketing and communications.

Contact us for research, survey administration and programming support.

Sarah A. Deal, Ph.D.

Director of Research