Catawba Valley Community College is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...

Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickor ...

. The college, established April 3, 1958, is part of the

North Carolina Community College System The North Carolina Community College System (System Office) is a statewide network of 58 public community colleges. The system enrolls over 500,000 students annually. It also provides the North Carolina Learning Object Repository as a central lo ...

. The main campus covers and includes 16 buildings. The college also operates a Cosmetology Center in downtown Newton, the CVCC Alexander Center for Education in Taylorsville, and East Campus, where continuing education and business & industry services are provided. Specialty programs include the Manufacturing Solutions Center, where US manufacturers are provided assistance to increase sales, improve quality and improve efficiency. A Regional Simulated Hospital, ValleySim Hospital, opened in 2011. CVCC now has two furniture academies, one in Newton, North Carolina, and one in Taylorsville, North Carolina.

Challenger Early College High School

Challenger Early College High School Challenger Early College High School is a public secondary school in Hickory, North Carolina, United States on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College. Challenger Early College High School is ranked the top high school in Catawba County Sch ...

is a program on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College that is a collaborative effort between

Catawba County Schools Catawba County Schools is the largest school district in Catawba County, North Carolina, United States. Its 28 schools serve 17,370 students as of the 2010–11 school year. Student demographics For the 2010–11 school year, Catawba County School ...

, North Carolina New Schools, CVCC, and the

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...

. Every year, Challenger Early College High School accepts 100 8th graders out of about 300 applicants from

, Alexander County Schools, Hickory City Schools, and Newton-Conover City Schools. In 2015, 390 students attended Challenger. They take a four- or five-year curriculum with high school courses and college courses. All students, upon graduation, receive a high school diploma (and usually an associate degree).

Alexander Early College High School

Alexander Early College High School is a program on the CVCC Alexander Center Campus of Catawba Valley Community College. Established in 2016 under the Alexander County Schools high school system, students can graduate in four years, with both a high school diploma and an associate degree, in either science or art, or gain credits in a business program offered by the school. Mainly serving students already under the Alexander County Schools system, homeschooled students and others living in the area can also apply. Most students apply and are accepted to the school in their eighth grade year, however, some transfer students have been accepted in later years. Housed in the Applied Technology building, AEC has approximately 230 students, and its current principal is Mary Brown.

2011 free speech controversy

In October 2011, Catawba Valley Community College suspended student Marc Bechtol for complaining on his Facebook page about a new policy that required students to sign up for a debit card to get their student ID and grant money. CVCC decided that the comments were "disturbing" and a "threat", and used that reasoning to suspend the student.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), formerly known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, is a non-profit civil liberties group founded in 1999 with the aim of protecting free speech rights on college campus ...

took the side of the student, and he was allowed back in class pending an outcome. Charges were dropped in December 2011.

References

External links

Official website

Official athletics website
{{authority control Two-year colleges in the United States North Carolina Community College System colleges Hickory, North Carolina Educational institutions established in 1958 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Education in Catawba County, North Carolina Buildings and structures in Catawba County, North Carolina 1958 establishments in North Carolina NJCAA athletics

Challenger Early College High School

Alexander Early College High School

2011 free speech controversy

See also

References

External links