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College of Education
Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research

College Services

As part of our mission of supporting community college presidents statewide, the Belk Center engages in a variety of services designed to assist individual colleges in their work to develop new strategic plans, increase student access and success, and invest in professional learning for faculty and staff. 

Policy Analysis

The Belk Center engages with colleges in a policy audit process. The purpose of the policy audit is to review the college’s policies, practices, and procedures to identify areas that could create or exacerbate barriers for students in their pursuit of a credential of value. In addition, the research associates also identify areas of promise or excellence where policies thoughtfully considered needs of students and employees. The policy review team considers (but is not limited to):

Eric Fotheringham and Audrey Jaeger
  • Exemplary language that supports all students and employees
  • Residency and citizen-based restrictions on admission, course enrollment and access to financial aid and in-state tuition
  • Barriers to access and persistence due to approach to assessment, placement and remediation
  • Barriers to access due to approach to career and college promise
  • Barriers to persistence and completion due to unpaid balances policy

The goal of the policy audits is to learn more from college communities about policies and procedures that may lead to higher success outcomes.

North Carolina Association of Community College Presidents

Group of presidents at the July 2022 NCACCP meeting

The Belk Center supports programming for the North Carolina Association of Community College Presidents (NCACCP) through individualized learning sessions that are collaboratively designed with presidents to focus on specific interest areas, like strategic finance, transfer and trustee engagement. In 2022, the Belk Center, in partnership with NCACCP, offered a New Presidents Orientation for 14 first-time NC Community College presidents that provided opportunities to learn about the legislative process, leading organizational change, strategic finance, board relationships and fundraising in the context of student success.

Strategic Planning Support

The Belk Center collaborates with North Carolina community colleges in their strategic planning efforts through an individualized approach. Tailored to each college’s individual needs, the Belk Center team supports presidents and executive leadership teams with facilitated discussions to help them create strategic planning roadmaps, and recommendations for tools, resources, promising practices and evidence-based strategies.

Individuals seated around tables during a strategic planning session

Customized Faculty & Staff Professional Learning

The Belk Center offers customized professional learning programs for individual college faculty and staff upon request from the president. Programs are designed to advance the college’s student success agenda throughout the institution and include support for leadership development, strategic planning and goal-setting, and internal and external communication.