Renovations underway at RCC

LUMBERTON Three rooms at Robeson Community College that will be used to provide health care students with life simulation training will be operating within two months, according to college Vice President Channing Jones.

Jones told the colleges board of trustees Monday that the rooms where state-of-the-art mannequins will be used to give students hands-on training should be open as early as next month and no later than March.

The $250,000 in renovations are being funded through a $25 million grant RCC is sharing with five other community colleges. The Better Occupational Outcomes with Simulated Training grant is provided through the U.S. Department of Labor.

Other renovations under way at the college include roofing on Building 8, located on RCCs main campus, and carpet installation in the administration building. According to Vice President Alphonso McRae, 50 percent of the new carpet will be installed this weekend and the rest on Jan. 25 and Jan. 26.

In other business, the trustees on Monday:

Heard a brief enrollment update from Pamela Hilbert, the colleges president. Although the spring semester figures are not final, Hilbert said it appears that spring enrollment will be about 1,725 students, down from the fall enrollment of 1,900 students.

This is the national trend, Hilbert said. Undergraduate enrollments are down at colleges and universities across the country except in metropolitan areas.

According to Hilbert, RCC is trying to recruit new students and maintain those already attending. A committee has been formed, she said, to improve marketing efforts.

Heard a brief report about the colleges chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. The presentation was made by Shamella Cromartie and Louis McIntyre, RCC staff chapter advisers, and RCC student Darious Johnson, the chapters president.

Phi Theta Kappa is an honor society for community college students. To be a member a student must have a 3.5 grade- point average or higher. Currently, there are 28 members of the society on campus at RCC.

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Renovations underway at RCC