Rural Postsecondary Practices Partnership

The Rural Postsecondary Practices Partnership (RP3) brings together a small group of close partners, including the North Carolina Community College System, Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, EducationNC, and myFutureNC.

The commitment of these partners is to understand, curate, and share practices and policies that strengthen rural-serving community colleges.

Through a synthesis of conversations with college leaders, targeted research, and publicly available information, the RP3 team curates promising practices across the nearly 50 rural-serving institutions in North Carolina – the largest rural college network in the United States.

This collaborative research is ongoing, and we encourage you to reach out with additional examples, questions, updates, or feedback on the resources posted below. We can be reached at RP3@nccommunitycolleges.edu.

2025

• Edwards, J., Jaeger, A., & Nichols, H. (2025). Catalyzing Change Through Innovation: Insights from Rural College Leaders Program. Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. Raleigh, NC.
• Jones, C., Nichols, H., & Deal. S. A. (2025). Redesigning the New Student Onboarding Experience. Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research. Raleigh, NC
• Mcllwain, V. & Barricklow, Z.J. (2025). Rural Advanced Manufacturing Partnerships Toolkit: How North Carolina’s Rural-Serving Community Colleges Leverage Partnerships to Meet Advanced Manufacturing Workforce Needs. North Carolina Community College System and Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, Raleigh, NC
• Barricklow, Z.J., Eddy, P.L., & Jaeger, A.J. (2025). Leading Rural Innovation and Change Series: Becoming an Innovator. Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, Raleigh, NC.
• Barricklow, Z.J., & Jaeger, A.J. (2025). Leading Rural Innovation and Change Series: Adapting to the Future of Work. Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, Raleigh, NC.

2024

• Mcllwain, V. & Barricklow, Z.J. (2024). Rural Healthcare Partnerships Toolkit: How North Carolina’s Rural-Serving Community Colleges Leverage Partnerships to Meet Healthcare Workforce Needs. North Carolina Community College System and Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, Raleigh, NC.
• Jones, C., Nichols, H.N., & Deal, S.A. (2024). Building Momentum Toward Degree Attainment through Contextualized English Courses. Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, Raleigh, NC.
• King, J., Nichols, H.N., & Deal, S.A. (2024). Responding to Community Needs through “Be Great in 8:” A Case Study for Communities of Practice. Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, Raleigh, NC
• Barricklow, Z.J., & Jaeger, A.J. (2024). Adapting to the Future of (Rural) Work: Focus Areas for Innovation and Change. Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, Raleigh, NC.
• Nichols, H.N., Harry, D., & Graves, D. (2024). Rural College Leaders Program: Supporting Rural Student Success through Cohort-based Leadership Development. Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research, Raleigh, NC.