North Carolina fourth graders are testing proficient in reading at the lowest level since 2009, and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors is concerned that its schools aren’t equipping future K-12 teachers to reverse that trend.

Even as an elementary school kid, Chris Cable hated school. It felt pointless, and so boring that he struggled to stay awake. Cable wanted to be a state trooper when he grew up — why did he need to know about algebra and essay-writing?   

A five-part series exploring free speech and free expression on college campuses wrapped up last week in the University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ Committee on University Governance  with a report  on the results of a survey examining how those issues play out on UNC campuses.

Henry Owl was the first person of color, and the first Native American, to attend the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Now, 94 years after he first enrolled, a building has been named in his honor — on May 13, UNC’s student affairs building was officially christened  the Henry Owl Building.

The decades-old model used to determine state funding requests for University of North Carolina System schools is set to change following a vote the UNC Board of Governors took during its April 7 meeting  in Cullowhee. While the current formula looks only at total enrollment when determining funding, the new model will consider performance-based measures, as well.

Since July 2021, institutions across the University of North Carolina system have been experiencing massive increases in employee turnover — and Western Carolina University is no exception.

Through at least fall 2024, applicants to University of North Carolina System schools won’t have to sit for SAT or ACT testing to be considered for admission, following a vote of the UNC Board of Governors Thursday, April 7. 

Seventeen employees at University of North Carolina System schools — including two from Western Carolina University — are suing the university system and Gov. Roy Cooper in a class-action lawsuit demanding a halt to plans to resume residential instruction until such instruction can take place safely. 

It’s no secret that Western Carolina University is a growing community, with enrollment topping 12,000 for the first time this semester following an upward swing that’s seen the student body increase for eight out of the past nine years. 

In terms of journalism and media in North Carolina, very few names are as recognizable as that of Frank Stasio. Host of the WUNC (North Carolina Public Radio) weekday program “The State of Things” (based out of the American Tobacco Historic District in Durham), Stasio and his platform have become a beacon of light for politics, culture, history and societal dialogue across the Tar Heel State.