Randolph Community College leaders review expansion plans

ASHEBORO — In a wide-ranging discussion of Randolph Community College expansion plans, a word that kept coming up was “need.” As in “Our job is to be where they need it.” “Whatever the community needs.” “Get feedback from students and respond to their needs.” “Be able to meet needs.”

Sitting around the table talking to media representatives on Aug. 13 were RCC president Dr. Shah Ardalan, vice president of Learning and Workforce Development Dr. Lisa Johnson and executive vice president and CFO/COO Dr. Richard Weldon.

Downtown Asheboro

The first question involved the new RCC location at 135 Sunset Ave. in Asheboro called the RCC Education and Engagement Center. It was said that the space will have two classrooms for teaching English as a second language and other courses. Also, the Small Business Center will have an office there with the goal to help create new businesses and assist current businesses through difficulties.

The 1,200-square-foot room downstairs is being leased with possible future lease of the 6,000-square-foot upstairs space. After making sure everything is within state codes, classes are expected to begin in October.

“We believe the response is going to be very good,” Ardalan said, stressing that his staff “take(s) pride in the community’s college.”

Archdale Center

Moving along with the concept of a multi-campus college, Johnson said the Archdale center is introducing a general hygiene program and resuming the heating/ventilation/air-conditioning (HVAC) and welding programs. 

 The timeline for the general hygiene program, including accreditation, is two to three years. But they won’t wait that long to begin classes.

The changes will allow the Archdale Center to convert to campus status. Johnson said locations away from the home campus must offer students the same assistance resources as the main campus. The multi-campus plan allows RCC to meet students where they are, physically and educationally. It also enables the college to expand business partnerships and educational opportunities. 

Liberty campus

A new campus is on the drawing board for the Liberty area. Ardalan said they’re looking for community partners, including companies that want training for employees. “It’s not the Toyota Building,” he said. “It’s open to all companies.”

The first phase will be facilities for the community college. Those facilities and programming will be designed to meet campus status standards. 

The second phase will be for university partners and the third phase will be for businesses. The focus will be health care and manufacturing.

The 22-acre site is on US 421, a prime location. Ardalan said there will be a 

“beautiful building that’s not expensive.” Phase 1 has a projected cost of $25 million with the total phases amounting to some $60 million. RCC is soliciting for partners who need employee training programs.

“The location is a new opportunity for students in that part of the county,” Johnson said.

Ardalan agreed, saying, “Our job is to be where they need it, to take the college to them.”

He added that RCC will partner with Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) to train new employees. It’s an overall effort to be prepared for companies interested in locating here.

“When companies come, they ask, 

‘What can you offer?’ It’s an engine of prosperity for the county. Taxpayers get $3 back for every $1 spent. That’s good investment.

“I appreciate that the county is heavily involved in K-13 (education),” he said. “We want college for them to go to here,” adding that community college graduates are more likely to remain in their communities than university students.

Partnering with others

Partnering with universities, Ardalan said, means RCC will provide education for the first two years (associate of arts degree) and the university offers the last two years. “What we offer depends on what they have.”

These partnerships with universities will allow students to earn four-year degrees without leaving the county.

Ardalan emphasized that “the backbone of the country is small business. We offer training to help people start their own business” with business courses.

Johnson said students can receive credit for their prior learning. That decreases their time in school.

“The priority for us is to have a lot of options,” Ardalan said. For instance, a student may have the option of learning a subject in four weeks, eight weeks or 16 weeks, depending on their schedule. “We don’t want to leave anyone out. It depends on people’s lives. Not all are full-time students.”

“We meet them where they are,” Johnson said. “We offer different opportunities. We get feedback from students and respond to their needs.”

Another stress of Ardalan is “We’re not Asheboro Community College. We’re Randolph Community College.”

Also, “Small business is as important to us as Toyota.”

ESTC east of Asheboro

Another topic was the Emergency Services Training Center on a 60-acre site east of Asheboro. The center is used by agencies across the Piedmont for training in emergency services, firefighting, law enforcement and special forces.

“We’re investing heavily in the ESTC,” said Ardalan, referring to $1.2 million for a state-of-the-art burn building and clean building for simulations of emergency situations.

“We can change the configuration in minutes,” Johnson said of the clean building.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Ardalan said. “We want them to have the best training.”

He said the master plan for the investment included input from police chiefs and the sheriff. Firefighters at Toyota’s on-site fire station were trained at the ESTC.

Johnson said when state rules changed for Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET), including training for mental health individuals, RCC had the first graduates in the state. “The success rate was fantastic,” she said.

“Many colleges questioned the changes,” Ardalan said. “It required more money and training. We’re not questioning but reprioritizing. If it’s important, find the resources.”

AIAI Center of NC

Finally, the discussion went to plans for the Applied Industrial Artificial Intelligence Center of NC. The center will be housed in a 20,000-square-foot former warehouse on the main campus near the Photographic Technology building.

Ardalan said artificial intelligence (AI) has applications in the building trades, agriculture and advanced manufacturing. “We have funding to build it on campus. It will be beautiful, functional and unique. Industry will use it along with students.”

He said the county commissioners gave RCC $5 million for the project. WIth equipment, the total cost will be “close to $8 million.”

The bottom line for all these projects is that RCC is becoming flexible to meet student and community needs. That includes multiple centers and campuses throughout the county, certificate, credential, degree and college transfer options, and workforce training and retraining.