TO THE EDITOR:
I read the editorial in Tuesday's paper about community college transfers, and I feel that my opinion needs to be heard, because I am one of those transfer students. I graduated from Alamance Community College this past spring with an associate of arts degree.
However, there are not 779,000 others just like me ready to invade the four-year schools. Community colleges are set up to train people in fields such as automotive repair, biotechnology, nursing, welding and many more. The associate degrees those people receive do not transfer to a four-year school. Only those people who are enrolled in the "College Transfer" program can transfer their courses to schools such as UNC through the North Carolina Community College Common Curriculum.
Thus, the actual number of community college students ready to apply for admission is far less. A student graduating with an college transfer associate degree transfers with 64 hours and eliminates all general liberal arts requirements here at UNC or any other state school except foreign language and physical education. Anyone who has done that amount of work is mature and smart enough that they can get in some public school in this state without legislative oversight.
As for the request for $6.5 million to bring in advisers to help explain transferring, I agree that they are not necessary. I had no problem understanding the system, and anyone who does can ask a teacher at the community college in the college transfer program itself or a school administrator.
Adding special advisers would be redundant, and the Editorial Board makes a good point that the money is greatly needed elsewhere in the community college system.
Matthew Teal Junior History
