Guilford Technical Community College now in the top three within the N.C. Community College system

GTCC’s Jamestown campus, one of five campuses located throughout Guilford County.

JAMESTOWN, N.C. (Sept. 17, 2024) – Guilford Technical Community College is now the third-largest community college in the North Carolina Community College System, according to statistics released recently by the N.C. Community College system.

GTCC’s enrollment increased to 30,256 for the 2023-24 school year moving it past Fayetteville Technical Community College to become the third-largest student body among North Carolina’s 58 community colleges. The increase in student enrollment for GTCC continues a post-pandemic upward trend. Since 2020-21, during the height of the pandemic, enrollment has increased by over 5,000 students.

“This is a significant milestone for Guilford Technical Community College,” said GTCC President Anthony Clarke, Ph.D. “Since 2020, we've embarked on an ambitious journey to rebuild and strengthen our enrollment and student persistence based on a renewed commitment to our Guided Pathways model. This remarkable achievement is a testament to our faculty and staff’s collective dedication and unwavering commitment to make amazing happen for our students.”

GTCC’s 2023-24 enrollment of 30,256 is third behind Wake Technical Community College (66,528) and Central Piedmont Community College (48,814). There were more than 600,000 students enrolled in community colleges statewide in 2023-24.

According to Clarke, GTCC made a commitment to rebuilding and strengthening its enrollment, emphasizing the use of the Guided Pathways model. Guided Pathways is an institution-wide approach to student success at community colleges. Ultimately, the Guided Pathways framework restructures the community college experience for students by helping them explore, choose, plan, and complete programs aligned with their career and education goals efficiently and affordably.

GTCC’s Guided Pathways 2.0 initiative is focused on four pillars: student interest and onboarding, career and program selection, belonging and communication and student success in the first 12 credit hours of their college experience. Areas of the college were reorganized, and resources were allocated to support the implementation of this new model.

By offering the Access Amazing Scholarship (tuition-free college), the college concentrated its outreach efforts to inform and educate potential students about the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) and the amount of aid available to help alleviate financial burden. Within the second full year of offering the Access Amazing Scholarship, GTCC saw an 11% increase in FAFSA applications. In the fall of 2024, nearly 12,000 FASFA applications have already been completed.

“GTCC has always offered free assistance with FAFSA applications, but we significantly increased our public FAFSA help sessions to support individuals navigating the new FASFA form and process this year,” shared Clarke. “We also implemented new software and processes to simplify students' enrollment and registration experience, increased our communication efforts to students and applicants and expanded hours to support students who work.

“In addition to the Access Amazing Scholarship, the college worked really hard to create a stronger sense of belonging and community for our students through clubs, activities, increased wraparound service resources, and daily interactions of students with faculty and staff.”