| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Public two-year community college, North Carolina Community College System; campus-based, with some fully online programs |
| Campuses | 3, all in North Carolina: Dallas (main), Lincolnton and Belmont (Kimbrell Campus and Textile Technology Center) |
| Credentials | Associate degrees (AAS, plus AA, AS, AE, AFA and AGE for transfer), diplomas, certificates and non-credit continuing-education courses |
| Students | 6,925 curriculum students in fall 2025, a college record; about three in four attend part-time (College Navigator, fall 2024) |
| Accreditation | The Commission on Colleges and Universities (formerly SACSCOC), associate level; reaffirmed 2022, next review 2032 |
| Federal aid | Yes |
| 2026-27 tuition | $76 per credit hour for NC residents, $268 for non-residents |
| Founded | Chartered 1963; first classes September 1964 |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
Gaston and Lincoln counties’ community college, with the state’s only community-college textile center
Gaston College is a public two-year college in the North Carolina Community College System. It was chartered in 1963 and held its first classes in September 1964, and it serves Gaston and Lincoln counties from three campuses: the main campus in Dallas, just north of Gastonia; the Lincoln Campus in Lincolnton; and the Kimbrell Campus in Belmont, which houses the Textile Technology Center, the only one at a North Carolina community college. It teaches associate degrees, diplomas and certificates for jobs and for transfer, and non-credit continuing-education courses.
Enrollment is growing. The college counted 6,925 curriculum students in fall 2025, its highest ever, 669 more than a year earlier and 32% more than in fall 2021. About three in four studied part-time in fall 2024, according to College Navigator. Newer programs include Respiratory Therapy (provisionally accredited in 2025) and an online Fire Protection Technology degree.
Programs, from nursing to gunsmithing
| Program | Credential | Length / schedule | Where taught | Prepares for / accreditation | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associate Degree Nursing (RN) | AAS | 5 semesters, day; fall start | – | NCLEX-RN; ACEN | – |
| LPN to RN Option | AAS | 3 semesters; evening, weekend and online; summer start | – | NCLEX-RN; ACEN | – |
| Practical Nursing (LPN) | Diploma | 3 semesters, day or evening; fall start | – | NCLEX-PN; ACEN | – |
| Nurse Aide I and II | Continuing education | – | Lincoln | NC Nurse Aide I Registry / NC Board of Nursing Nurse Aide II listing | $230 (I), $250 (II) |
| Respiratory Therapy | AAS | 5 semesters; 15 seats | Dallas | NBRC exams; CoARC provisional accreditation | – |
| Surgical Technology | AAS | 21 months, full-time, day | – | CST (NBSTSA); CAAHEP | – |
| Veterinary Medical Technology | AAS | 2 years | Dallas | VTNE; AVMA | – |
| Medical Assisting | Diploma (about 1 year); AAS | – | Lincoln | CMA (AAMA); CAAHEP | – |
| Emergency Medical Science (Paramedic) | AAS; Bridging AAS | – | Lincoln | NREMT; CAAHEP/CoAEMSP | – |
| EMT / Advanced EMT | Continuing education | 248 hours / 300 hours | – | NREMT | – |
| Medical Office Administration (Billing and Coding; Patient Services) | AAS, diploma, certificate | AAS 5 semesters, diploma 3; AAS fully online option | – | CBCS (NHA) for Billing and Coding | – |
| Phlebotomy | Continuing education | 186 hours: 8 weeks class and lab, 8 weeks clinical | Dallas and Lincoln | National phlebotomy certification | $230 |
| Central Sterile Processing | Continuing education | 220 hours; evening class, online work, 4-week clinical | Dallas | HSPA certification | $240 (about $1,227 with exam and extras) |
| Cosmetology | AAS; diploma; instructor certificate | – | Lincoln (on-site salon) | NC Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners licence | – |
| Esthetics Technology | Certificate; instructor certificate | 2 semesters | Lincoln | NC esthetics licence | – |
| Manicure/Nail Technology | Continuing education | 324.5 hours | Lincoln | – | $332.10 |
| Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration | Diploma; 3 certificates (no AAS) | About 1 year; day and night | – | – | – |
| Electrical Systems Technology | AAS; diploma; 4 certificates | AAS in as few as 5 semesters; day and night | – | – | – |
| Welding Technology | Diploma; 2 certificates (no AAS) | – | Lincoln | – | – |
| Automotive Systems Technology | AAS; diploma; 2 certificates | – | – | – | – |
| Gunsmithing | Diploma, 39 credits | 5 semesters, 3 evenings a week | – | – | – |
| Textile Technology | Degrees and certificates | – | Belmont (Kimbrell) | – | – |
| Truck Driver Training | Continuing education | 160 hours, 110 behind the wheel | Trans-Tech partner site, Gastonia | Class A and B CDL | $4,680 incl. physical, drug screen and skills test |
| Basic Law Enforcement Training | Continuing education | 868 hours | – | Police academy | – |
| Fire Protection Technology | AAS; certificate | Fully online | – | – | – |
| Criminal Justice Technology | AAS (General or Forensic Science); certificates | General AAS fully online or in person | – | – | – |
| Paralegal Technology | AAS; certificate | – | – | NC Certified Paralegal exam (NC State Bar-qualified) | – |
| Accounting & Finance; Business Administration | AAS, diploma, certificates | Online or on campus; morning to evening | – | – | – |
| Information Technology (4 tracks) | AAS | Networking and Cyber Defense: 5 semesters | – | – | – |
| Early Childhood Education | AAS (3 tracks); 6 certificates | – | – | – | – |
Most program pages do not say which campus teaches the program; a dash in the “Where taught” column means the college does not name one. Prices are published only for non-credit courses, which charge their own fee instead of tuition.
Nursing, Medical Assisting, Surgical Technology, Paramedic and Veterinary Medical Technology carry their own programmatic accreditation (see below). Health Information Technology is offered with Davidson-Davie Community College, which teaches the HIT courses online while general education is taken at Gaston. Medical Sonography is listed as pending accreditor and/or state approval, so we do not list it as a current program. Gaston also resells third-party online short courses through ed2go and its career-training site.
What the main programs cover
Nursing: ADN, LPN to RN and Practical Nursing
The Associate Degree Nursing program runs for five semesters of day classes and admits a new class each fall. Licensed practical nurses can take the three-semester LPN to RN option instead, which starts in summer and is built around evening, weekend and online study. Practical Nursing is a three-semester diploma with a fall start and a choice of day or evening schedules. Applicants to the ADN and Practical Nursing programs take the TEAS entrance exam. The college arranges the clinical placements for its nursing students.
Respiratory Therapy
Respiratory Therapy is a five-semester associate degree that admits no more than 15 students to each class. Respiratory courses meet on the Dallas Campus, and clinical rotations take place at CaroMont facilities in Gaston County and Atrium facilities in Lincoln and Cleveland counties. The program prepares graduates for the NBRC credentialing exams. Because it opened recently, it holds provisional CoARC accreditation (effective 1 May 2025), and no exam or job results have been published yet.
Gunsmithing
The Gunsmithing diploma is 39 credits taken over five semesters, with classes three evenings a week rather than in the daytime. The program combines five gunsmithing courses with two machining courses, plus English and maths. Applicants must be 18 or older and either hold a permit exemption or pass a federal background check. The college described the program as in its third year in December 2024. A shorter non-credit course in general gun repair is also offered.
Truck Driver Training (CDL)
The 160-hour course has 50 hours of theory and 110 hours behind the wheel, covering both Class A and Class B commercial licenses and including night driving. Training takes place with Trans-Tech, a registered federal entry-level driver training provider, at its site at 3051 Aberdeen Blvd. in Gastonia. Students first attend a mandatory orientation on the Dallas Campus; one is scheduled for 22 October 2026, with fall course dates still to be announced. The CDL skills test is part of the course.
Phlebotomy and Central Sterile Processing
Phlebotomy is 186 hours: eight weeks of class and lab, then eight weeks of clinical work with at least 122 clinical hours and 75 successful venipunctures, preparing students for a national certification exam. Spring 2026 sections ran at both Dallas and Lincoln. Central Sterile Processing is 220 hours; its summer 2026 run met on Thursday evenings at Dallas, added online work and finished with four weeks of clinical practice before the HSPA exam. Both courses require students to be 18 by the first clinical.
Tuition, fees and how students pay
Tuition is set for all 58 North Carolina community colleges by the State Board of Community Colleges and the General Assembly, not by Gaston College, and the 2026-27 rates are unchanged from 2025-26 (NCCCS memo CC26-027, July 2026). There is no in-district or county rate: students pay either the NC resident or the non-resident rate.
| Curriculum tuition, 2026-27 | NC resident | Non-resident |
|---|---|---|
| Per credit hour | $76 | $268 |
| Semester maximum (16 or more credit hours) | $1,216 | $4,288 |
Full-time tuition therefore comes to about $2,432 a year for NC residents and $8,576 for non-residents, before fees. The college also charges per-semester fees, such as student activity, technology and campus access fees, plus lab fees and malpractice insurance for health students; check the current amounts on its tuition and fees page. Continuing-education courses charge the state registration fee instead ($70, $125 or $180 in 2026-27, depending on course hours), and some publish their own prices: $4,680 for Truck Driver Training, $230 for Phlebotomy, $240 for Central Sterile Processing, and $230 and $250 for Nurse Aide I and II (October 2026).
Gaston College takes federal student aid. College Navigator puts its average net price at $8,055 for 2023-24. High-school students in the state’s Career and College Promise program pay no tuition for curriculum courses.
Open-door admission, with selective health programs
Admission to the college is open, but several programs set their own entry rules:
- Associate Degree Nursing and Practical Nursing: applicants take the TEAS entrance exam.
- Respiratory Therapy: each class is capped at 15 students.
- Gunsmithing: age 18 or older, with a permit exemption or a federal background check.
- Phlebotomy and Central Sterile Processing: students must be 18 by the first clinical; Nurse Aide I: at least 16.5.
The ADN and Practical Nursing start in fall and LPN to RN in summer. Schedules vary: Practical Nursing has day and evening options, LPN to RN uses evenings, weekends and online study, Gunsmithing meets three evenings a week, HVAC and Electrical run day and night classes, and Business classes run morning, afternoon and evening. The general Criminal Justice degree and certificate, Medical Office Administration (general and Billing and Coding) and Fire Protection Technology can be completed fully online. Gaston takes part in NC-SARA, and the college says online students may enroll from most of the United States. Continuing-education courses fill first-come, first-served, with payment at registration.
Accreditation and results
Gaston College is accredited at the associate level by The Commission on Colleges and Universities, the name the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) took on 1 September 2026. The college has been accredited since 1967; accreditation was last reaffirmed in 2022, the next reaffirmation is due in 2032, and the commission lists no public sanctions.
Program accreditation: ACEN for Associate Degree Nursing and Practical Nursing (renewed 10 April 2025 without stipulations; next visit fall 2032); AVMA for Veterinary Medical Technology; CAAHEP for Medical Assisting, Surgical Technology and Paramedic; and provisional CoARC accreditation for Respiratory Therapy since 1 May 2025. Paralegal Technology is a North Carolina State Bar qualified program, but the college does not claim ABA approval. Nurse Aide I is approved by the state Division of Health Service Regulation and Nurse Aide II by the NC Board of Nursing. More detail is on the college’s program accreditations page.
| Measure | Result | Definition and source |
|---|---|---|
| NCLEX-RN pass rate | 100% (2023), 100% (2024), 98% (2025) | ADN and LPN to RN graduates combined; college outcome report, February 2026 |
| NCLEX-PN pass rate | 100% (2023), 98% (2024), 100% (2025) | Practical Nursing class of each year; college outcome report, February 2026 |
| ADN completion | 34% to 51% | Share of newly admitted traditional ADN students who graduated with their cohort, in the 2023–2025 reports; college outcome report, February 2026 |
| VTNE pass rate (vet tech) | 87.37% | 63 first-time candidates, January 2023 to December 2025; college accreditation page |
| Paramedic National Registry pass rate | 100% (2023 and 2024) | Program’s annual report to CoAEMSP, on the EMS program page |
| Respiratory Therapy | No results yet | New program with provisional CoARC accreditation since 1 May 2025 |
We found no published pass rates for Surgical Technology, Medical Assisting, Health Information Technology or Cosmetology. We leave out an overall graduation rate because the federal and Niche figures we found disagree.
Before you enroll
- Open admission does not mean an open seat in nursing or allied health: the ADN and Practical Nursing use the TEAS, and Respiratory Therapy takes only 15 students a class.
- Nursing exam results are strong, but many ADN students do not finish with their class: in the college’s 2023–2025 reports, between 34% and 51% of newly admitted traditional ADN students graduated with their cohort.
- Respiratory Therapy is new. It holds provisional CoARC accreditation, and no graduate exam or job results have been published yet.
- Several short job courses, including Truck Driver Training, Phlebotomy, Central Sterile Processing, Nurse Aide and Nail Technology, are non-credit continuing education with their own prices. Ask how they can be paid for before you register.
- Check where your classes meet. The college names a campus for only some programs, and Truck Driver Training takes place at a partner site in Gastonia, not on a Gaston campus.
Three campuses: what each teaches
| Campus | Address | Programs the college places there |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Campus (main) | 201 Highway U.S. 321 S, Dallas | Respiratory Therapy, Veterinary Medical Technology, Central Sterile Processing, Phlebotomy; continuing-education registration |
| Lincoln Campus | 511 S. Aspen Street, Lincolnton | Cosmetology, Esthetics, Nail Technology, EMS, Medical Assisting, Nurse Aide, Phlebotomy, Welding; adult education |
| Kimbrell Campus & Textile Technology Center | 7220 Wilkinson Blvd., Belmont | Textile Technology (only site); textile-industry training and testing |
Truck Driver Training is held at Trans-Tech, 3051 Aberdeen Blvd., Gastonia, a partner training site rather than a Gaston College campus. Health students do their clinical work at off-site facilities, such as CaroMont and Atrium sites for Respiratory Therapy.
Clinical placements and small-business help
The college arranges clinical placements for its health programs. Continuing-education students can get support through the More Than A Job NC program, and the Small Business Center at the Lincoln Campus offers free counselling to people starting or running a business.
What students say
On Niche, Gaston College is rated 3.89 out of 5 from 403 reviews, with an overall grade of B (checked 8 October 2026). Reviewers most often praise helpful professors and small classes, advising and support (especially in nursing and early college), low cost and a friendly community feel. The most common complaints are unprofessional staff and poor communication, little campus life and limited dining, and one reviewer described a harassment complaint at the cosmetology campus that they felt was not handled. The reviews cover the whole college rather than one program, and we could not see when they were posted, so we cannot say whether they cluster in time.
Sources
Checked October 2026: Locations and directions · Programs of study · Commission on Colleges and Universities record · NCCCS 2026-27 tuition memo · Program accreditations · College Navigator (IPEDS 198570) · Fall 2025 enrollment release · Niche
Programs & Courses
Nursing
- Associate Degree Nursing (RN)
- LPN to RN Option
- Practical Nursing (LPN)
- RIBN (with Lenoir-Rhyne University)
- Nurse Aide I and II (continuing education)
Health Sciences
- Respiratory Therapy
- Surgical Technology
- Veterinary Medical Technology
- Medical Assisting
- Emergency Medical Science (Paramedic)
- EMT and Advanced EMT (continuing education)
- Health Information Technology (with Davidson-Davie Community College)
- Medical Office Administration – Billing and Coding
- Medical Office Administration – Patient Services Representative
- Phlebotomy (continuing education)
- Central Sterile Processing (continuing education)
- Health and Fitness Science
Cosmetology and Esthetics
- Cosmetology
- Cosmetology Instructor
- Esthetics Technology
- Esthetics Instructor
- Manicure/Nail Technology (continuing education)
Skilled Trades and Industry
- Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Technology (HVAC)
- Electrical Systems Technology
- Welding Technology
- Automotive Systems Technology
- Gunsmithing
- Computer-Integrated Machining
- Textile Technology
- Truck Driver Training (CDL, continuing education)
- Construction Academy: Carpentry and Masonry Basics (continuing education)
Engineering and Science
- Applied Engineering Technology
- Civil Engineering Technology
- Biotechnology
Public Safety and Law
- Criminal Justice Technology
- Criminal Justice – Forensic Science
- Basic Law Enforcement Training (continuing education)
- Fire Protection Technology (online)
- Firefighter Academy (continuing education)
- Public Safety Administration
- Paralegal Technology
Business
- Accounting & Finance
- Business Administration – General
- Business Administration – Human Resources Management
- Business Administration – Office Management
Information Technology
- IT – Information Systems Support
- IT – Networking and Cyber Defense
- IT – Software and Web Development
- IT – Web Administration and Design
Media
- Audio and Video Production Technology
- Sports Media Technology
Education and Human Services
- Early Childhood Education
- Residency Licensure (Elementary Education)
- Social and Human Services
College Transfer
- Associate in Arts
- Associate in Science
- Teacher Preparation (AA and AS)
- Associate in Fine Arts in Visual Arts
- Associate in Engineering
- Associate in General Education
- Associate in General Education – Nursing
Campus Locations
Gastonia (Dallas), NC 201 Highway U.S. 321 S, Dallas, NC 28034
Lincolnton, NC 511 S. Aspen Street, Lincolnton, NC 28092
Charlotte (Belmont), NC 7220 Wilkinson Blvd., Belmont, NC 28012