LUMBERTON — Meeting on the first day of fall classes Monday, the Robeson Community College’s Board of Trustees learned that enrollment is at 1,614 students, a slight drop from 2016 fall semester.
When registration is final, enrollment should match last year’s figure of 1,651, Bill Mauney, vice president for instruction and support services, assured the board.
“Three or four weeks ago, I was a little worried,” Mauney said. “We will be registering more students tomorrow.”
RCC President Kimberly Gold, who is greeting her first class as president, said it was a good day.
“It was a busy day today, but a good day,” Gold said. “We have some students here all summer, but it’s good to see that energy back on campus.”
Gold and RCC’s administration, staff and faculty have focused on breaking down barriers to student success, especially for low-income and first-generation college students.
“We have to be on the top of our game to effectively support our students,” she said. “We need to help all our employees be more knowledgeable about the college.”
Gold also noted plans for additional student activities, including events in the A.D. Lewis Auditorium.
“Students want to learn, and they want to have fun too,” Gold said. “I would like to increase the number of cultural events in the auditorium. This is also another opportunity to bring the community to campus.”
The trustees listened to plans for a big annual program that will draw many more people to RCC — Book ‘Em.
Book ‘Em will be Sept. 23, which is a Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature many North Carolina authors talking about and selling their books. Headliners for panel discussions are Lumberton author Jill McCorkle and Fayetteville poet LeJuane Bowens, said Crystal Edmunds, director of English programs and Book “Em coordinator.
The trustees also heard that the North Carolina General Assembly voted to allow people 65 and older to audit classes tuition free. RCC will not receive per-pupil funding from the state for those students, Gold said.
The trustees welcomed new member Morgan Hunt Jones, who is a Pembroke native and director of Alumni Relations at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Her father, Johnny Hunt, is a former trustee, county commissioner and was once the superintendent for the Public Schools of Robeson County.
RCC will host an event celebrating the eclipse at noon on Monday. Five hundred pairs of ISO-approved viewing glasses will be passed out.
