July 6. Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is among the Top 10 Digital Community Colleges, according to the Center for Digital Education. RCCC was recognized for its work on mobile technology, smart classrooms and technology innovation, including online tutoring for students  24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Digital Community Colleges Survey analyzes how community colleges use a range of technologies to improve services to students, faculty, staff and the community at large.

“This year’s survey indicates community colleges are continuing to improve efforts at creating cost-effective platforms and Open Education Resources, mobile environments, real-time resources, telepresence robots and more to create robust online and mobile environments for their students,” said Dr. Kecia Ray, executive director for the Center for Digital Education.

Mobility devices/app support is their top priority in the coming year, followed by website redesign/updates, cybersecurity tools and testing, and digital content and curriculum. RCCC is currently in the process of undergoing a web redesign.

“The College understands the importance of digital offerings. We will continue to listen to our students and provide the technological options they are seeking for their education,” said Spalding. “Although we have come a long way, we continue to work and enhance the services and system we provide to students.”

RCCC has a new feature on the registration system that allows students to plan their entire academic path to graduation online. It helps improve their ability to forecast the classes they need to take each term and how close they are to achieving their degree, diploma, or certificate. Additionally, students’ itemized tuition bills are now easily accessible through the same platform.

There is also a Bring Your Own Device help desk on campus for students and staff. There is a stable, secured wireless network that allows students, faculty, and staff to be able to connect to network resources using not only college-owned devices, but personal devices like smartphones, tablets or laptops.

“We not only support enhanced websites, new online planning systems, mobile technology, campus wide wireless access, as well as many other tools, but we tie all of these items together to create a cohesive personalized and contextual experience for our students,” said Ken Ingle, chief officer of information services for RCCC. “This experience simplifies technology for our users allowing students to focus on their educational goals. We believe this is really what sets us apart from others who entered.”

The College is also continuing their efforts in the ever-expanding courses offered via distance education. “A recent study indicated that distance education enrollments account for nearly all recent student growth at two-year institutions and we want to be sure we are offering courses in the methods our students want. But from the information technology side of things, we also want to make sure those offerings are supported with the right kinds of technology and customer service resources,” said Ingle.