Western Piedmont Community College — College Profile

About

Nestled in the scenic foothills of Morganton, North Carolina, Western Piedmont Community College (WPCC) is best known for its seamless university transfer pathways and highly respected, career-ready programs in nursing, cosmetic arts, and criminal justice. Students benefit from a supportive, close-knit campus culture that features active student organizations, a scenic nature trail, and an on-campus disc golf course, offering a vibrant, community-oriented commuter experience. What truly sets WPCC apart is its renowned Professional Crafts program—which provides rare, hands-on associate degrees in clay, wood, and metal design rooted in Appalachian heritage—alongside its commitment to highly personalized learning through an average class size of just fifteen students.

Wikipedia:Western Piedmont Community College is a public community college in Morganton, North Carolina. It was chartered on April 2, 1964, as a member of the North Carolina Community College System. The college's Sam J. Ervin Library is named for the U.S. senator and Morganton native who chaired the Senate Watergate hearings in 1973.

Location

Morganton, NC, 28655-4511 · City campus

✈

Nearest airport from college

RDU · Raleigh-Durham

163 mi away

Open in Google Maps

Cost & aid

Cost of attendance

These figures are federal data and may be out of date.

In-stateOut-of-state

Tuition & fees$2,650$8,794

Books & supplies$1,500$1,500

Cost of attendance$16,642$22,786 est.

Average net price$6,448Not published

Out-of-state prices

Tuition & fees$8,794

In-state: $2,650

Books & supplies$1,500

Cost of attendance$22,786 est.

In-state: $16,642

Average net priceNot published

In-state: $6,448

est. = the in-state cost of attendance with out-of-state tuition swapped in; no out-of-state figure is published.

Source: U.S. College Scorecard

Net price by family income · in-state students, 2023-24

$0–30k

$4,471

$30–48k

$6,147

$48–75k

$7,386

$75–110k

$13,421

Your family's actual price → Western Piedmont Community College net price calculator

Source: U.S. College Scorecard

Outcomes

Completion

Within 6 yrs

43%

Entered 2017–18

8 yrs after starting · first-time, full-time students

43% graduated · 24% transferred · 1% still enrolled · 33% left or unknown

Earnings · measured 2020 & 2021

6 yrs after entry$29,913

10 yrs after entry$34,195

Debt

Middle 50% owe$2.3k–$5.8k

90th percentile$8,750

Green marks a figure above the typical Associate's — mixed transfer/career: 32% graduate within 6 yrs.

Admissions

No admissions data available for this college.

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Essay prompts

If Western Piedmont Community College asks for supplemental essays, the prompts are in the school's application.

Student Body

Gender

Men 38%Women 62%

Who enrolls

Faculty ratio

10 : 1

Pell grant

45%

First-gen

46%

Family income

$22,002

Independent

38%

Age at entry

24.0

Part-time

68%

Race & ethnicity

White

70%

Hispanic

15%

Black

Asian

Varsity sports

No data. This school isn't in the U.S. Department of Education's athletics (EADA) file, so we can't list its teams. That doesn't mean it has none.

Institutional

Resources

Endowment

$4M

Full-time faculty

26%

Faculty salary

$6,227/mo

Teaching spend

$9,951

per student

Federal loans

Classification

Carnegie type

Associate's — mixed transfer/career

Undergraduate profile