Since its founding in 1967, Edgecombe Community College has been committed to fulfilling the education, training, and cultural needs of the Edgecombe County community and surrounding areas.
With campuses in Tarboro and Rocky Mount and classes online, the college serves about 5,500 individuals annually in its two-year degree, diploma, certificate, and continuing education programs. Excellent teaching and learning coupled with student achievement have characterized ECC throughout its history.
In September 2024, Edgecombe Community College ranked number six among the Best Community Colleges in the U.S. according to a recent study by SmartAsset. The online site for financial information and advice compared 616 two-year schools that offer associate degrees and have at least 500 full-time enrollees. Schools were ranked based on their retention rates, student-to-faculty ratio and tuition and fees. According to the report, ECC has a retention rate of 74 percent, a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and an annual cost of $2,640 in tuition and fees. Here are some other successes from 2024.
2024 Successes
Edgecombe Community College became the first community college in the state to establish an articulation agreement with the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM). Through this agreement, select classes successfully completed through the NCSSM Connect program transfer to ECC. NCSSM Connect provides distance education courses to North Carolina high school students via interactive video conferencing.
Edgecombe Community College was selected as one of 10 community colleges in North Carolina that will benefit from the EV charging station grant awarded to the NC Department of Transportation. This federal grant was made possible through the $2.5 billion Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program. The charging stations will help support clean vehicle training courses in automotive and electrical programs at the college.
Edgecombe Community College students brought home 11 awards, including five gold medals, from the SkillsUSA state competition held April 2024 in Greensboro. Forty-three students and 11 instructors participated in the competition. In the National Leadership and Skills Conference held June 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia, ECC SkillsUSA competitors won a silver medal and two bronze medals. SkillsUSA offers a competition for students to demonstrate their career and technical skills.
Edgecombe Community College’s student honor society, Phi Theta Kappa, won 19 awards during an awards ceremony held March 2024 by the Phi Theta Kappa Carolinas Region.
Seven ECC nursing students were accepted into the UNC Health Nash Nurse Scholars Program. The program funds the cost of each student’s education, tuition and books. A monthly stipend is also provided for high-achieving students pursuing an associate’s degree in nursing.
Edgecombe Community College student, Christopher Lacy, traveled to the Dominican Republic November 2024 thanks to the efforts of ECC’s program chair for Surgical Technology, Suzi Shippen-Wagner. Lacy, a Surgical Technology major, worked in the operating room with a team of nurses and doctors who performed nine surgeries.
The Edgecombe Community College Foundation received a $1 million gift, the largest donation in its 42-year history. The gift was made possible through the John R. Jenkins Trust and its trustee, Benjamin Hardy of Page & Smith, P.A., in Greenville. In recognition of the donation, the college’s Board of Trustees named the newest facility on the Tarboro campus the Barnhill-Jenkins Center for Innovation, which opened in 2020.
The E. Norris Tolson Endowed Scholarship was established at Edgecombe Community College. Tolson retired as president of Carolinas Gateway Partnership. The Partnership secured gifts from friends, family and colleagues totaling more than $114,700
The Edgecombe Community College Foundation’s 38th Annual Golf Tournament raised approximately $50,000 to support student scholarships and operations of the foundation. The tournament was held Oct. 3, 2024 at Maccripine Country Club in Pinetops. Forty teams competed in the ECC Foundation’s largest fundraiser.
There were a number of capital improvements on ECC’s campus in 2024. Some improvements included a renovation of the Barbering Building on the Rocky Mount campus and a remodeled Barnes Auditorium on the Rocky Mount campus.