Randolph Community College Board Expected
To Approve Biotechnology Program

ASHEBORO, N.C.--The Randolph Community College Board of Trustees is expected to approve a Biotechnology program during their regular meeting Thursday night. The program will help fill a growing need for biotechnology workers in North Carolina. While there are few jobs for biotechnologists in Randolph County today, there are jobs in surrounding counties and Randolph County hopes to recruit biotechnology companies to the area in the near future, according to Laura Douglas, vice president for instructional and student services at RCC. There are currently around 150 biotechnology companies operating in North Carolina.

RCC will offer this program through a collaborative agreement with Alamance Community College, which has the oldest continuous associate degree program in Biotechnology in the nation. RCC will offer the first year classes and students will then transfer to ACC to complete their degrees. RCC hopes to begin the program with the fall 2004 semester.

The Biotechnology curriculum is designed to meet the increasing demands for skilled laboratory technicians in various fields of biological and chemical technology. Course work emphasizes biology, chemistry, mathematics, and technical communications.

Job growth in the biotechnology field has averaged about 10% annually during the last several years and is expected to increase, according to the North Carolina Community College System Office. Of the 2,500 jobs generated each year, about 500 could be filled with community college graduates, but only 50-70 graduates a year are qualified, said Douglas. Douglas believes that a large number of students who are on waiting lists to get into RCC programs like Associate Degree Nursing and Radiography might be interested in the biotechnology field. A recent survey of those students has revealed a potential class of nearly 50 students.

A graduate of the Biotechnology program can expect to earn between $28,000-$35,000 a year at the entry level. With five years experience, the salary may reach between $35,000-$42,000 annually.

Douglas also said that the Biotechnology program fits well with a Pharmacy Technician degree that RCC hopes to add in fall 2005. Together these programs can serve to attract biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to the area. She noted that the targeted industry study recently conducted by the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation supports that need.

In support of the new program, Randolph Community College has applied for a $75,000 Golden Leaf Foundation grant for the purpose of developing a biotech recruitment and retention best practices model specific to community colleges and designed to increase retention by one-third. Douglas said it is not unusual for biotechnology programs to lose 50% of students in the first semester. A student who exits the program during the first year creates a vacancy that cannot be filled in this sequenced program; every vacancy is one less North Carolina worker prepared for job placement at the end of two years. Those grants will be awarded toward the end of May.

Douglas plans to set up an informational meeting on the Biotechnology program in May for K-12 administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, and interested students.