communities

Courtesy COA

International students at the COA Dare campus.

College of The Albemarle: Transforming lives and communities

For the last 60 years, College of The Albemarle has been seeking ways to meet the needs of students and prepare them for the workforce. COA seeks to build pathways to employment for local students in their hometowns. “You don’t have to get a four-year degree to have an economically viable career in the Outer Banks,” COA President Dr. Jack Bagwell said. “We’ve got the jobs, we’ve got the opportunities.”

He has a challenging job, considering that COA serves seven counties across four campuses – Elizabeth City, Currituck, Dare and EdentonChowan. While each campus has its own flavor and cultural differences, “We’re not four campuses that only share a name; we’re one college that happens to have four campuses.” A lot of energy is poured into the consistency in policy and procedure throughout the campuses. “We can celebrate differences, but at the end of the day, we are all COA,” Bagwell said.

There are plans for growth occurring on all of the campuses. Construction for the new Dare County 35,000-square-foot campus is in full swing, with an anticipated completion date of December 2022, some class offerings in the spring of 2022 and fully operational by the summer session. The new campus will provide for much needed classroom space, meeting areas and library space. Most importantly, it will consolidate the two Manteo campuses, currently located about a mile from each other. After construction is complete, discussions are in progress for the Russell Twiford Campus to be used by the Dare County school system for its early college program.

There’s an expansion plan in place in Currituck, as well as discussions in Elizabeth City to expand the nursing simulation facilities; COA-Edenton-Chowan is redoing a space to serve the trade programs.

Steve Sizemore worked in the manufacturing industry for twenty years before accepting a position as a welding instructor for College of The Albemarle, Roanoke Island Campus. Eight out of 10 of his students are participating in dual enrollment (also called Career and College Promise), which means they’re getting college credit while still attending high school classes. “When I ask my students why they didn’t go straight to university, without missing a beat they all say, ‘We didn’t want the debt. Why wouldn’t you come here if it’s paid for?’”

Just one of the many financial aid options is Dare Guarantee Scholarship program, which is open to recent or upcoming high school graduates in Dare County and may pay for all tuition and fees that are not covered by financial aid and scholarships. Priority is given to students attending the COA-Dare campus.

“There’s a great cooperation between COA and the county,” Sizemore said. His dual enrollment students attend high school in the morning, then come to COA in the afternoon. For students who start the 18-month program as a junior, they graduate from the COA welding program the same time they graduate from high school. “It’s a really fantastic program,” he said.

by Summer Stevens