Rowan-Cabarrus Community College officials outlined program growth, business partnerships and a plan for new workforce space during an appearance before the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners.

The college told commissioners it now draws 54% of its enrollment from Cabarrus County, provides a mix of curriculum and continuing-education offerings, and generates an estimated $238 million in annual local economic impact from student and alumni activity. College leaders said the institution’s operating budget is under $50 million and that continuing-education registrations totaled about 57,000 last year.

Why it matters: College officials framed the institution as a local workforce engine, saying expanded technical training and employer partnerships are filling jobs in manufacturing, life sciences and automotive trades that commissioners and county leaders have identified as priorities.

College presenters described several concrete developments. The Cabarrus Business and Technology Center received a $1,250,000 Golden Leaf grant to establish an automotive program intended to expand local access to technician training. The college also identified a $47,000,000 funding approval from Cabarrus County for a planned South Campus workforce development building that college leaders propose to brand as an AI center of excellence and position along I‑85; the college said it already owns about 23 acres appropriate for expansion.

Officials detailed other workforce partnerships: a short “BioWorks” training pipeline aligned with Eli Lilly that the college said produced more than 100 graduates in under a year, a training arrangement with Okuma on CNC machining that the college characterized as regional in scale, and an RJG national plastics injection‑molding training center with roughly 108 students enrolled. The presenters said many employer‑directed courses are short, intensive and attract participants who stay in local hotels and spend in the county economy.

On nursing and health programs, the college announced plans to begin a night nursing cohort in fall 2025 with 20 seats to increase capacity and better match workforce demand. The college also reported growth in welding, basic law‑enforcement training and certified nurse aide courses, noting wait lists in some trades (welding cited with 81 enrolled and 19 on a waiting list).

Officials said tuition remains intentionally low: the college’s credit‑hour charge is $76, and leaders estimated an associate degree can be completed for roughly $2,000 in tuition (not including fees or living costs). Presenters also said Pell Grants remain an important funding source for many students.

On artificial intelligence, college leaders described an instructional strategy that embeds AI tools in existing curricula and a broader ambition to create a facility that supports AI‑infused instruction across disciplines and continuing education. They said the Department of Labor had signaled employer demand for workers with AI skills and that the college plans to integrate AI training into associate of arts and science pathways and workforce courses; presenters emphasized that the college is preparing students to use AI tools rather than to build AI systems.

Commissioners asked how AI instruction would look in practice and were told faculty are already piloting classroom uses (for example, using AI as an editor in writing assignments and as a problem‑dissection tool in math rather than as a shortcut to answers).

College leaders asked for continued county support for renovations and construction at South Campus and for leveraging the 23‑acre site as a visible “front door” campus on I‑85. They added that the college expects workforce funding and facility projects to take several years from planning to opening.

Ending: College representatives said they will follow up with commissioners on details and thanked the board for prior support; commissioners and presenters noted plans for campus tours and upcoming graduation events.