Northampton Area School District and Northampton Community College have a special relationship. That’s not only in name alone, although NCC takes its moniker from Northampton County and not Northampton Borough.

The strong bond pertains to the number of NASD graduates who matriculate to NCC.

“Nearly one in four Northampton Area High School graduates enroll at NCC,” said NCC President Dr. David A. Ruth at the Feb. 13 NASD Board of Education meeting in the NAHS auditorium.

The presentation included the annual NCC funding request of NASD.

NCC, founded in 1967, receives funds from sponsoring school districts in Northampton County, among other funding sources.

Ruth announced NCC seeks $896,370 for its 2023-24 general operating budget, up from $870,599 from the 2022-23 general operating budget, and $21,276 for its 2023-24 capital budget, up from $20,902 for its 2022-23 budget, an overall increase of $26,145, or 2.93%, for NASD.

The proposed NCC 2023-24 budget is $69,957,018, an increase of $1,625,634, or 2.38%. The proposed NCC 2023-24 capital budget is $8,489,308, a decrease of $209,445, or 2.4% less.

Ruth said, as of fall 2022, there were 592 students from NASD enrolled at NCC, with 40.7% of these full-time students; 59.3%, part-time students; 57.4%, female; and 16.8%, minority.

Several NAHS graduates who are NCC students were lauded during the presentation, including Crystal Koch, a sophomore who received the Irvine Freshman Leadership Award; Jessica Kurman, recipient of the Darla R. Frack Nursing Scholarship; Nicole Hanna, a dean’s list nursing student pursuing a bachelor’s in nursing at Cedar Crest College; and Lizzy Hozza, an NCC Outstanding Athlete in tennis.

NASD enrollment at NCC is 12.84% in fiscal year 2022-23, the fourth highest enrollment among the eight school districts in Northampton County that sponsor NCC.

In the 2022-23 fiscal year, among NCC sponsoring districts, of which NASD is one, enrollment at NCC for Bethlehem is 36.21%; Easton, 21.20%; Nazareth, 10.13%; Bangor, 6.51%; Wilson, 5.08%; Saucon Valley, 4.10%; and Pen Argyl, 3.93%, Ruth said in his presentation.

“Our spring enrollments are around two and one-half percent up,” Ruth said.

More than 30,000 credit and noncredit students study annually at NCC. Enrollment increased 1% in fall, 11% in winter and 2.5% in spring at NCC. Nearly one in four high school graduates in Northampton County enroll at NCC.

Also, according to the presentation, 96% of recent NCC graduates are employed or continuing their education.

It was stated NCC “did feel the hit from COVID, but we’re bouncing back from that.”

Ruth said, post-COVID-19, a preference for online learning continues at NCC, with more than 50% of NCC taking online classes.

NCC offers 34 online degree programs, more than 120 degree certificate programs and more than 250 online classes.

Newsweek magazine ranked NCC as one of its 2023 top online colleges, No. 1 among community colleges in Pennsylvania and No. 1 among all colleges in Pennsylvania.

NCC has more than 60 student clubs and organizations, leadership development programs, “The Commuter” student newspaper, Student Senate, year-round theater performances and nine NCAA sports teams.

Tuition and fees in 2022-23 for a full-time student at NCC total $5,070, compared to, for example, $11,800 for Kutztown University and $59,930 for Lehigh University, according to the presentation.

“We offer a four-year experience at a two-year cost,” Ruth said.

Ruth said NCC has 4,620 students from sponsoring school districts, 3,201 students from nonsponsoring districts and 258 non-Pennsylvania students, for a total of 8,079 students.

“The mix has allowed NCC to subsidize tuition costs for in-county (Northampton County) students, keeping their cost of tuition low, (currently) one of the lowest in the commonwealth,” according to the presentation.

Ruth thanked Nicholas F. Politi Jr., the NASD representative on the NCC board of trustees where he is assistant secretary-treasurer.

Ruth was named NCC’s fifth president July 1, 2022.

The board of education is scheduled to meet 6:30 p.m. March 13 in the auditorium at NAHS, 1619 Laubach Ave.