Durham Tech May Open in County

A $3.1 billion bond referendum passed in November 2000 allocated $4 million for Orange County to put toward a community college.

Barbara Baker, vice president for student support services at Durham Tech, said a satellite campus would help concentrate learning in the county.

"I think there is a need for a central center in Orange County for us to teach at -- a center where people can explore career and training opportunities," Baker said.

The commissioners have been negotiating with Durham Tech for the satellite partly because more than 22 percent of the 22,000 students enrolled in Durham Tech's programs come from Orange County.

Local school officials also have voiced a desire to see Durham Tech linked more directly to high school campuses to give high school students more educational and training options.

"Having a wider range of programs available to students during the day would be excellent," said Linda Parker, director of the career information center at East Chapel Hill High School. "Students who want to do dual enrollment classes and go to another site would have more of an opportunity to do so."

Local high schools already participate in programs with Durham Tech to provide students with outside learning experiences.

"We already have many classes with Chapel Hill and Carrboro schools for high school students," Baker said.

But Parker said the distance between Durham Tech and local high schools limits students' ability to attend classes there.

"Currently, we are sending students as far as Sanford while still enrolled here," Parker said. "To have a (community college) locally would be one of the reasons that kids would elect to attend it."

Durham Tech offers associate degrees in the arts and sciences, which is equivalent to two years of work toward a baccalaureate degree. The satellite campus would probably offer similar programs to those of Durham Tech, Baker said.

Under the provisions of the bond referendum, the county has until 2006 to commit the money toward a community college plan or the money will no longer be available for use.

"We're at the point where our staff is meeting with their staff," Alice Gordon, Orange County commissioner, said. "There is a lot of stuff you have to organize. You have to organize funding. You have to organize a curriculum."

Baker said the purpose of having a community college is to train students to fill the needs of area employers.

"It should meet the needs of the community," Baker said. "We try and meet the needs of the employers, such as training students to fill the positions of the industries."

Having an Orange County campus would increase Durham Tech's ability to reach people, said Gordon.

"Obviously they can increase offerings if they have an establishment," Gordon said. "They want to offer a place to cater to the needs of the people."

Gordon said the next step for the commissioners is a resolution of intent to bind them to the discussion process.

"There will also be a public hearing where citizens can bring their concerns and suggestions on how to make this a better process."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.