A Partnership in Higher Education

Download

THE FIRST INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING south of Virginia was established in Charlotte in 1771.

Today, higher education is as important in the affairs of the Charlotte Metro Region as business and government. This is especially apparent in the partnership between the city’s colleges and universities and the rest of the community.

The Charlotte Area Educational Consortium, formed in 1969, provides a means for students to pursue courses at any of the member institutions for full credit. It lists 23 regular member colleges and universities.

More than 175,000 students are enrolled in degree or college-transfer programs at the 34 colleges, universities, community colleges and technical institutes located within the 13 county Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury CSA.

National and International Distinction
Many of the colleges and universities in the Carolinas and the region have been recognized for their excellence both nationally and internationally.

U.S. News & World Report’s “Survey of America’s Best Colleges” continually cites numerous North Carolina Schools in their rankings.

Unmatched Diversity and Excellence
Within the region:

• Eighteen public and private secondary institutions offer a wide range of baccalaureate degrees.
• Twelve schools offer graduate opportunities — master or doctoral programs — in a variety of disciplines.
• Fifteen junior colleges, community colleges and technical institutes confer two-year associate degrees.
• In the North Carolina portion of the Charlotte Metro Region, there are seven community colleges that are part of the state system of community colleges.

Excellence abounds among the institutions offering students a variety of learning environments from large, diverse campuses to small, denominational settings. Tuition for four-year degree programs ranges from $4,250 annually for a North Carolina resident living off campus at a public school to $38,784 for a private college student living on campus.

Respected Colleges and Universities
Central Piedmont Community College:
CPCC is the largest of the 58 colleges in the North Carolina Community College System and serves approximately 70,000 students each year. The college’s vision is to “become the national leader in workforce development.” Its six area campuses and online Virtual Campus make the college very accessible to students and employers.

Central Piedmont Community College was selected as Community College of the Year by the National Alliance of Business, and also honored by the MetLife Foundation as a best-practice college for exemplary performance in student retention.

The college offers two-year associate’s degrees and short-term diploma and certificate programs in over 100 technical specialties. CPCC is home to the only American Culinary Federation accredited culinary program in the Charlotte area. Corporate and Continuing Education customized training programs serve over 46,000 individuals and over 550 existing, expanding, and new companies each year.

An articulation agreement with the institutions of the University of North Carolina facilitates transfer of credit for CPCC students seeking bachelor’s degrees. Pre-college programs such as adult basic education, adult high school, general education development, compensatory education, and limited English proficiency serve the education and training needs of all adult students. High school students can get a head start on a college education through the College Experience Program with courses that fulfill both high school and college requirements.

Students can participate in Cooperative Education Programs to integrate practical learning into their academic programs. The college also operates several apprenticeship programs in cooperation with private industry and the Department of Labor. In all, CPCC has nearly 450 collaborative partnerships with business, industry, government, and sister educational institutions. www.cpcc.edu

Davidson College
Davidson College exemplifies the dynamic nature of the liberal arts, educating leaders and training creative minds to think critically. Founded in 1837 by ministers of the Concord Presbytery, Davidson now meets the challenges of a technology-driven, interdependent global community. Davidson College was ranked as the nation’s eighth best Liberal Arts College by U.S. News and World Report.

Davidson’s 1,700 students come to the historic, picturesque campus from almost every state in the nation and many foreign countries. The highly selective admissions process means that students are already proven scholars and leaders when they arrive on campus.

About 90 percent rank in the top 10 percent of their high school classes, and most have an outstanding record of extracurricular leadership and community service.

At Davidson, they find the opportunity to work in close collaboration with professors with a student-faculty ratio of 10:1. Davidson offers a sound liberal arts education in: industry, banking, management, politics, government service, social science and the arts.

Davidson is particularly strong in laying an educational base for further study in the professions of medicine, law, international affairs, teaching, business and the ministry.

An active honor code sets the tone for the academic and social life of this campus, where self-scheduled examinations, unproctored tests and open library stacks are the norm. www.davidson.edu

Johnson and Wales University
Johnson & Wales University Charlotte Campus offers three colleges: the College of Business, College of Culinary Arts and the Hospitality College.

Johnson & Wales is growing rapidly with over 2,600 full-time students enrolled for the 2007-2008 academic year, an increase of approximately 600 students enrolled for the 2005-2006 academic year.

Ninety-eight percent of J&W University graduates from the U.S. are employed within 60 days of graduation. Associate and bachelor degrees are offered. Students work ten hours of community service before they graduate.

Johnson & Wales also offers Charlotte residents a unique opportunity to learn culinary skills and artistry from some of the best chefs in the industry. Chef’s Choice® is an innovative program featuring a hands-on culinary experience that provides a great introduction to the culinary arts. The classes appeal to all culinary skill levels and take a creative approach, in which participants actually prepare and sample the foods as they learn.  www.jwu.edu

Johnson C. Smith University
Johnson C. Smith University is a private, four-year liberal arts institution located on a 100-acre campus within blocks of Uptown Charlotte.

The University offers approximately 1,500 students academically progressive programs in more than 30 fields of study, which lead to a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Social Work degree. A student to faculty ratio of 13:1 assures students receive individual attention.

JCSU is known as one of the oldest and strongest African-American institutions in the country and is noted for its nationally acclaimed technology initiative where every student receives an IBM laptop computer and has complete access to the campus-wide network and Internet services. www.jcsu.edu

Pfeiffer University
Pfeiffer University’s main campus is located in Misenheimer, N.C., and is home to the institution’s Undergraduate College (a residential program with about 900 students located 40 minutes northeast of Charlotte).

Pfeiffer’s Charlotte campus offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees and consists of three academic divisions: the Undergraduate University, the Graduate School and the School of Adult Studies.

Pfeiffer’s total enrollment is 2,116 and is steadily increasing. Their online program continues to grow and constitutes approximately 15percent of all courses.
The largest majors are in business administration, education and criminal justice, but programs are offered for all traditional areas of study. www.pfeiffer.edu

Queens University of Charlotte
Founded in 1857, Queens University of Charlotte is a private liberal arts university, with close ties to the Presbyterian Church. The University is located near uptown Charlotte in Myers Park, a beautiful, historic residential area. Queens has approximately 2,300 students enrolled in its College of Arts & Sciences, Pauline Lewis Hayworth College and The McColl Graduate School of Business.

Degree-seeking students in the College of Arts and Sciences are exposed to an interdisciplinary curriculum:

• The CORE program in the liberal arts, after winning praise from the National Endowment for the Humanities, serves as a model for other colleges and universities nationwide.
• More than 90 percent of full-time undergraduate students take advantage of the opportunity to travel and study abroad as part of their tuition through the John Belk International Progra.
• 100 percent fulfill an internship.
• The College of Arts and Sciences also offers a Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

The Pauline Lewis Hayworth College includes programs for graduate and undergraduate students. The undergraduate program is designed for working students who wish to pursue an undergraduate degree in one of a variety of majors by attending evening classes. For students seeking advanced degrees, Hayworth College also offers master’s degree programs in nursing, teaching and organizational communication.

The McColl Graduate School of Business offers a professional MBA and an executive MBA as well as non-degree executive leadership training programs. www.queens.edu

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
With 25,500 students, UNC Charlotte is the fourth largest of the 16 member institutions of The University of North Carolina. The university offers a broad array of 90 programs leading to bachelor’s degrees, 62 leading to master’s degrees and 18 leading to doctoral degrees.

A research university, UNC Charlotte comprises seven colleges — Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, Education, Information Technology, Health and Human Services — and a School of Nursing. A university-wide graduate school serves 4,975 students.

For its largely residential undergraduate student body, freshman learning communities and freshman seminars integrate students into college life. The institution also offers an Honors College for approximately 250 undergraduates, as well as disciplinary honors programs in most majors to engage students in research and service with the faculty. Over 70 percent of the undergraduates participate in internships through the Career Center. The Office of Adult Students and Evening Services meets the needs of nontraditional students.

UNC Charlotte focuses on teaching with a strong emphasis on applied research and public service. The university serves the community, state and nation through:

• The Ben Craig Center, a business incubator.
• The Charlotte Research Institute’s centers for optics, e-business technology, precision metrology and bioinformatics.
• The Urban Institute’s community research and planning, the Global Institute for Energy and Environmental Systems, the N.C. Motorsports and Automotive Engineering Research Center, the Center for Bioengineering Systems, the Center for Real Estate, the Institute for Social Capital’s research on education and social services the Charlotte Community Design Studio and other centers and institutes.
• In response to Charlotte’s global business outlook, programs are offered in International Studies, Latin American Studies and International Business. The Office of International Programs facilitates study abroad and student and faculty exchange programs. UNC Charlotte enrolls students from about 80 foreign nations and has working relationships with colleges and universities throughout the world.

The university serves a diverse student body, with 22.5 percent of that population represented by minority students. Each year, UNC Charlotte grants about 4,500 degrees and now has more than 75,000 alumni. www.uncc.edu

Wingate University
Wingate University ranks among the top Southern liberal arts institutions, and U.S. News and World Report has consistently listed it as one of the nation’s best small colleges. Wingate University has a student to faculty ratio of 13:1, a co-ed student body of 2,154 — 90 percent of the faculty holding doctorate degrees.

Wingate University offers 34 majors on the undergraduate level including pre-professional programs and graduate programs in business (MBA) and education (MAT, MAEd). Adults may complete their bachelor’s degrees at Wingate’s University’s convenient Metro College location in Matthews.

The Wingate University School of Pharmacy, one of three schools of pharmacy in North Carolina, takes an innovative approach to learning by incorporating advanced technology as well as classes in medical Spanish, geriatrics, pediatrics and herbal solutions. www.wingate.edu

Winthrop University
Founded in 1886, Winthrop is a national-caliber, comprehensive learning university with a distinctive mission to offer challenging academic programs to a high achieving, culturally diverse and socially responsible student body.

41 undergraduate and 24 graduate degree programs and options are available in the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, and Visual and Performing Arts — all of which are supported by Winthrop’s newest academic division, University College.

Winthrop’s 100-acre central campus, complemented by its east campus’ 325-acre athletics and recreational area, provides a setting of exceptional beauty in Rock Hill, S.C. www.winthrop.edu

Additional Area Institutions
Art Institute of Charlotte, Charlotte, www.artinstitutes.edu/charlotte

Barber Scotia College, Concord, www.b-sc.edu

Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, www.belmontabbeycollege.edu

Brookstone College of Business, Charlotte, www.brookstone.edu

Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, Hudson, www.caldwell.cc.nc.us

Carolinas College of Health Sciences, Charlotte, www.carolinascollege.edu

Catawba College, Salisbury, www.catawba.edu

Catawba Valley Community College, Hickory, www.cvcc.edu

Charlotte School of Law, Charlotte, www.charlottelaw.org

Cleveland Community College, Shelby, www.cleveland.cc.nc.us

DeVry University/Keller Graduate School of Management, Charlotte, www.devry.edu

ECPI College of Technology, Charlotte, www.ecpi.edu

Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, www.gardner-webb.edu

Gaston College, Dallas, www.gaston.edu

King’s College, Charlotte, www.kingscollegecharlotte.edu

Lee University, Charlotte, www.leeuniversity.edu/charlotte-center

Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, www.lrc.edu

Livingstone College, Salisbury, www.livingstone.edu

Mitchell Community College, Statesville, www.mitchellcc.edu

Montreat College, Charlotte, www.montreat.edu

NASCAR Technical Institute, Mooresville, www.uti.edu

N.C. Center for Applied Textile Technology, Belmont, http://textilecenter.gaston.edu

Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Salisbury & Concord, www.rowancabbarus.edu

Stanly Community College, Albemarle, www.stanly.edu

Strayer University, Charlotte & Huntersville, www.strayer.edu

South Piedmont Community College, Polkton, www.spcc.edu

University of Phoenix at Charlotte, Charlotte, www.phoenix.edu

University of South Carolina at Lancaster, S.C., http://usclancaster.sc.edu

Wake Forest University-Babcock Graduate School of Management, Charlotte, www.mba.wfu.edu

York Technical College, Rock Hill, S.C., www.yorktech.com