Former welder Matthew Williams (left) of Laurinburg enrolled in classes for the fall semester at Richmond Community College Thursday afternoon. He looks forward to pursuing a career in computer engineering. Pictured with him is RCC Counselor Tim Harris, as he helps him identify what classes will get him started toward becoming a computer engineer.
“I decided to go back to school,” he said matter-of-factly.
The former welder was enrolling in classes Thursday afternoon to work towards a 21st Century career - computer engineering.
“For me, this is a close drive and it’s the right fit,” Williams explained.
The deadline for new students to register for classes at Richmond Community College is 1 p.m. today, while returning students will have an opportunity to re-enroll during the late registration period on August 17 and 18.
“When we begin to work with a student, the first thing we do is try to find out what their interest is,” Counselor Tim Harris said. “We want to know where they’re going and that we have programs to get them started in that direction. Then, hopefully, we line them up with what they need.”
Harris was working with Williams, identifying what classes he needed to take at the ground base of his renewed academic career.
For Williams, testing at the career center will help to draw a map, Harris said.
“What we do is look at your personality type and your skill level,” he said. “We try to identify what careers a person may be successful at.”
Career center testing is a part of a course students take in their first semester called Academic Success, or ACA 111, he said.
As of Wednesday night, over 1,600 students had enrolled, up from 1320 at that time last year.
“It’s been busy,” RCC Public Information Officer Anne Morris said. “It’s critical for students to understand that they must have taken the placement test, have all high school and college transcripts on file at RCC and have their financial aid approved to be eligible to register on August 17 and 18. You can’t just walk in off the street and register at that point.”
Enrollment in local community colleges has risen with the recession, as ousted manufacturing workers like Williams and former employees of UCO in Rockingham have returned to school to retrain for a career with more opportunities.
In addition, more students are choosing to stay home and attend a transfer program with less money coming into households and uncertainty over their parents’ job security.
“You name it and we see it coming through the door,” Harris said in a previous interview. “Students right out of high school, dislocated workers and students returning after being out of school for a while.
“We’re seeing people obviously capable of going to college anywhere in the country, but because of the economic concerns of our state, they are coming here.”
Even for students who can afford to go off to school, Harris said the cost-effectiveness cinches the deal.
“They can afford to go to school, but have just realized they can basically get the first two years of college here for a tenth of the cost,” he said.
That gap is closing somewhat though.
Tuition has risen this semester, Morris said, due to budgeting and finances.
“It has gone up $8 a semester hour, which is a significant increase for students who paying out-of-pocket,” she explained.
It will cost in-state students $800 to enroll in 16 semester hours, typically five or so classes, this semester, but that’s not where the money ends, Morris pointed out, at a community college or a four-year university.
“Then you have textbooks, which can run $75 to $100 apiece, and you qualify for financial aid based on a federal formula we have no control over,” she said. “So, some people maybe right at that cut-off, but there’s really nothing we can do. It can be tough for these students to afford to go to school, that’s why the scholarships funded by our foundation are so important.”
Last year, more than 90 scholarships were awarded to RCC students.
Community college is still the cost-effective measure, though, Morris said.
“However, when you compare the tuition to a four-year institution, and you add in all the fees they charge for athletics and to use their labs and even just outfitting a dorm room and paying upkeep on a vehicle so they can get back and forth - this is still the best game in town,” she said.
To register for classes today, one must visit the Student Development Department in the Lee Building on RCC’s campus by 1 p.m.
Late registration will be held at the same location on August 17 and 18, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and again from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The fall semester begins August 19.
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