Introduction and Overview: Edgecombe Community College is a public community college located in North Carolina with campuses in Tarboro and Rocky Mount, as well as online courses. The college serves approximately 5,500 students each year, offering two-year degree, diploma, and certificate programs as well as continuing education courses.

History and Founding: The college was founded in 1967 as an extension unit of Wilson County Technical College as Edgecombe Technical College. The new school held its first class in August 1968. In 1987, the college was renamed Edgecombe Community College, and the campus has continued to expand since then. In January 2016, Edgecombe Community College opened a 45,000-square-foot Biotechnology and Medical Simulation Center on the Rocky Mount campus.

Strength of Schooling: In 2023, the college achieved excellent results in many aspects, such as being named the best community college by "Intelligence" magazine and ranking 29th among 66 educational institutions offering two-year associate degree programs in North Carolina; its basic law enforcement training program has graduated a record number of students; the practical nursing program ranks 4th in the state, and the graduates of this program have passed the national license examination for 12 consecutive years. The college also received a three-year grant of more than $306,000 from the National Science Foundation to upgrade manufacturing training in industrial and technical industries to Industry 4.0 standards.

Nature of the institution: Public community college, a member of the North Carolina Community College System.

Educational philosophy: Committed to meeting the educational, training and cultural needs of students and the community, focusing on providing students with support services such as tutoring, counseling, academic advice and financial aid, etc., to help students improve their professional skills, transfer to four-year institutions or complete courses within two years to enter the workplace.

Key laboratories and disciplines: Although the key laboratories are not clearly defined, the Biotechnology and Medical Simulation Center opened in the Rocky Mountain campus in 2016 provides strong support for practical teaching of related majors. In terms of key disciplines, the nursing major performs well, with the practical nursing course ranked fourth in the state, and nursing graduates have a high pass rate in the national license examination.

Departments and majors: There is no clear division of departments, but more than 130 academic degree programs, diplomas and certificate programs are offered, covering a wide range of fields.

Ranking: It was rated as the 29th best community college in North Carolina in 2023, and ranked third among the community colleges in the country that provide high-quality and affordable teaching selected by the SmartAsset website.

Cost: No specific cost information has been obtained yet, but as a public community college, tuition is usually relatively low, and the college will provide students with certain financial aid and scholarship opportunities.

Campus Setting: The 120-acre campus is located 2.5 miles south of Tarboro and consists of 11 buildings, with an additional separate campus in Rocky Mount.