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WPC

Western Piedmont Community College

Morganton, North Carolina Public 2-year Small city

Overview

Western Piedmont Community College is a public two-year institution in Morganton, North Carolina. Its campus is in a small city. It enrolled 1,813 students in fall 2024. It is part of North Carolina Community College System.

Western Piedmont Community College offers certificates and associate degrees across 39 programs. Its largest programs by number of graduates are Liberal Arts and Sciences, Registered Nursing, and Accounting and Finance. It awarded 469 degrees and certificates in 2024-25. 2 of its programs can be completed entirely online.

The school has an open admission policy. 75% of full-time first-year students return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio is 10 to 1.

Mission

Western Piedmont Community College unites with all people in our community to identify and achieve their goals through an innovative, high quality educational experience.

Mission statement as reported by Western Piedmont Community College

Key figures

Open
Admission policy
1,813
Students enrolled
75%
First-year retention
469
Degrees and certificates awarded, 2024-25
39
Programs and majors
10:1
Student-to-faculty ratio

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Delivery modes

CampusOnlineHybrid

Program levels

CertificateAssociate

Programs and majors offered 39

Graduate counts are degrees and certificates awarded in each program between July 2024 and June 2025. Largest fields are listed first.

Liberal Arts and General Studies 1
Health Professions 9
Engineering Technologies 5
Business, Management and Marketing 3
Education 4
Culinary, Cosmetology and Personal Services 3
Precision Production 2
Foreign Languages and Linguistics 1
Construction Trades 1
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement and Firefighting 2
Legal Professions and Studies 1
Visual and Performing Arts 3
Computer and Information Sciences 1
Communications Technologies 1
Agriculture and Veterinary Science 1
Family and Consumer Sciences 1

Admissions

Admission policy
Open admission

Outcomes

Retention is for students who started in fall 2023 and returned in fall 2024.

First-year retention, full-time students
75%
First-year retention, part-time students
57%
Student-to-faculty ratio
10:1

Degrees and certificates awarded

Awards conferred between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.

Associate degrees
308
Certificates under 1 year
136
Certificates of 1 to 2 years
25

Enrollment

Students, fall 2024
1,813
Undergraduates, fall 2024
1,813
Full-time, fall 2024
26%
Students over the full 2024-25 year
2,392
Full-time, 2024-25
31%
Size category
1,000 to 4,999 students

Student body

Share of all students enrolled during 2024-25. Small groups can round to zero and are not listed.

Women
63%
Men
37%
White
71%
Hispanic or Latino
15%
Black or African American
6%
Asian
6%
American Indian or Alaska Native
1%
Race or ethnicity unknown
1%

Online and flexible learning

Distance education in 2024-25.

Programs that can be completed fully online
2
Online undergraduate programs
Yes
Students studying fully online
28%
Students taking some online courses
49%

Campus and services

Setting
Small city
Academic calendar
Semester
Part of
North Carolina Community College System
Carnegie classification
Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career & Technical-High Nontraditional
President
Joel D. Welch
Services and opportunities
Academic and career counseling, Student employment services, Accepts AP credit, Credit for life experience
For veterans and service members
Credit for military training, Dedicated veterans contact

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