RALEIGH, N.C. -- It's been quite the fall semester so far for UNC-Pembroke, facing the heartache of Hurricane Florence head on. But they've also seen some really incredible growth, shattering their previous enrollment record and opening a brand new college of Health Sciences.

The university’s Chancellor Dr. Robin Gary Cummings says the school saw a nearly 900 student increase in enrollment this semester compared to the same time last year, a whopping 14 percent bump. And he attributes this to the NC Promise Tuition Program, which allows students to go to UNCP, Western Carolina and Winston-Salem State University at a wildly reduced rate. UNCP’s first semester under the program saw 7,137 students registered up from their previous high in 2010 of 6,944. But he also says they’re taking steps to retail the students they already have, seeing a 5 percent bump in their retention rate this semester.

Chancellor Cummings says the school also recently opened the new College of Health Sciences, that consists of four pre-existing departments: counseling, health and human performance, nursing and social work. They have around 100 faculty and 1,400 students in the department. The chancellor says their goal along with state legislators, is to help better meet health care needs of people in rural southeastern North Carolina. They hope to only grow the college in the future, adding more bachelor, master’s and doctoral programs.