Record Number to Walk at RichmondCC Graduation

Dr. Dale McInnis informed the Richmond Community College Board of Trustees that 361 students would be graduating on Saturday, May 14, during commencement exercises at the Cole Auditorium.

To accommodate this record number of graduates and their families, the College will hold two graduation ceremonies. A morning ceremony will begin at 11 a.m., and an afternoon ceremony will begin at 2 p.m.

“While our student enrollment has grown, completion is what we are really striving for,” McInnis, president of RichmondCC, said. “We have put a lot of emphasis on student retention, and the growing number of students graduating is a clear indication that we are making progress keeping students on track to complete their degree, diploma or certificate.”

The number of graduates for this spring increased by 15 percent from last year and has nearly doubled from seven years ago when the College had 184 graduates.

“We know this is an important day for our students and their families, so we had no choice but to split graduation into two ceremonies to accommodate graduates and their guests,” McInnis said.

At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, the Board of Trustees also received a report on the increase in summer enrollment.

“We have more students registered for summer classes than last year, and we still have three more weeks before classes start on May 23,” McInnis said. “We encourage university students coming home for the summer to take advantage of the many transferable classes they can complete at RichmondCC this summer and earn college credits at an affordable cost.”

In Other News

• The $7.22 million that RichmondCC will receive from the Connect NC Bond will not become available from the state until August. In the meantime, the College is exploring architect firms to lead the facility improvement projects that will be funded by the bond money. McInnis said construction would most likely begin late summer or early fall 2017.

• The RichmondCC Guarantee Celebration and Open House attracted a large crowd to the College last Thursday, and College staff helped nearly 100 RichmondCC Guarantee qualifiers begin the financial aid process that is required to receive the two years of free college.

• The Board received a report on the five-year technology plan that will ensure the technical needs of the college are up-to-date and satisfactory.