1979 Profile of North Carolina Community College and Technical Institute Students: A Preliminary Summary of Findings.

A survey was conducted in Spring 1979 to determine the characteristics of a scientifically drawn sample of 16,400 curriculum and continuing education students enrolled in 57 community colleges and technical institutes in North Carolina (NC). The study focused on: (1) the demographic and financial characteristics of the students; (2) the major differences between curriculum and continuing education students; (3) the extent to which the students were representative of the adult population in NC; (4) how student characteristics had changed over the past ten years; (5) the factors which attracted the students to their institutions; (6) how the students learned of institutional offerings; and (7) what plans the students had for employment or continuing their education. Major findings indicated that while the majority of respondents perceived their institutions as the major vehicle for educational opportunity, a large proportion were not aware of the availability of support services. Recruitment practices on the part of two-year institutions weighed heavily in students' institutional choice, as did school location and low instructional costs. Enrollment trends showed that the NC colleges serve an increasingly representative cross-segment of the state's adult population, and, at the same time, serve unique sub-populations of non-traditional students. (JP)