CARY — For many students who have transferred from a community college to a UNC-system school, the transition was complicated by a tangle of red tape.
But now, a new agreement should make it easier for community college students to transfer course credits to a North Carolina public university.
On Friday, the leaders of the UNC system and the N.C. Community College system joined together to sign the new Comprehensive Articulation Agreement. It had taken two years to update the original 1997 joint agreement.
The revised rules, which will go into effect for new college transfer students in the fall, are meant to give students a more direct and clear path to a four-year institution. The agreement establishes foundational courses that will transfer to any system school to meet general education requirements and requires coursework to help students map their academic progression.
It also guarantees that community college students who transfer will be juniors with full credit if they have completed an associate degree.
“It’s certainly going to save time, but it’s also going to save money because students have to pay tuition if they have to repeat a course,” said N.C. Community College System President Scott Ralls. “It’ll also save money for taxpayers because our courses are supported (by taxpayer money) in both community colleges and the university (system).”
He said this agreement will also help the thousands of students who take some college courses while still in high school.
UNC-system President Tom Ross said the more streamlined process will help transfer students be successful at system schools.
About 24,000 students who started at a community college in the state are now undergraduates in the UNC system — accounting for 54 percent of all transfer students in the system.
