NCICU Receives $1.3M Grant to Partner with NCCCS to Streamline Transfer Pathways

New Funding to Streamline Transfer Pathways in North Carolina from Two-year colleges to Four-year Private Colleges and Universities

RALEIGH, N.C., July 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A newly funded technology platform provides more assurance to North Carolina community college students that their credits will count toward a bachelor's degree at any private four-year university in the state. North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) and the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) announced a new grant-funded partnership to facilitate the successful transfer of course credits for students moving from two-year colleges to four-year private colleges and universities in the state.

The new initiative will leverage technology from Acadeum to streamline the transfer process and reduce credit loss, to replicate this technology in other states through the generous support of a $1.3 million collective grant from the Teagle Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, ECMC Foundation, the John M. Belk Endowment, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition, Lumina Foundation has provided complementary funding to ensure the involvement of NCICU and NCCCS faculty and staff in the development and implementation of this project. 

"We are fortunate in North Carolina to have both a comprehensive articulation agreement for students to be able to transfer the first two years of college courses and we also have discipline-specific agreements for those students who know the major they wish pursue," said Dr. Hope Williams, the president of NCICU. "We are grateful to the funders of this project for helping us use world-class technology to streamline the transfer process with our partners from the North Carolina community college system."

Nationally, 80% of entering community college students indicate they want to earn a bachelor's degree or higher, but only 31% of those students actually go on to do so. For many students navigating the education landscape, the transfer process may pose a challenge in finding the "right fit" in terms of course credits accepted and majors offered at four-year institutions.

"Continuing to enhance transfer opportunities for North Carolina's community college students is critical to helping them continue their education and improve their social and economic mobility," said Dr. Jeff Cox, president of the North Carolina Community College System. "We are proud to partner with NCICU to strengthen the transfer process to help our students achieve both associate and baccalaureate degrees."

Any credit loss can set students back financially and academically, creating unnecessary roadblocks to students completing their intended credentials.

The new funding will help the state's community college students within NCCCS and students at Louisburg College in NCICU leverage a statewide transfer portal to be powered by technology partner Acadeum. Working in collaboration with other statewide transfer efforts, the project will build on existing state policies and articulation agreements in North Carolina, and specifically address four transfer frameworks:

• Associate degree transfer - facilitating four-year universities' acceptance of general education or core credits earned at community colleges in order for students to maximize credit completion.
• Transfer pathways - enabling students to plan major-specific credits earned at a community college towards their degree at a four-year university to have the highest application of their community college credits.
• Transfer guarantee - providing the option of admission guarantees for community college transfer students who meet certain criteria so that learners have a clear understanding of admission requirements and confidence in acceptance of credit.
• Reverse transfer - helping students enrolled at four-year universities complete their associate degree while pursuing their bachelor's degree.

The project will leverage the Acadeum Course Share platform (ACS), which allows participating colleges to offer available seats in open courses and map course equivalencies to help credit count at the home institution. Acadeum already works with multiple institutions within North Carolina and has a longstanding partnership with NCICU.

"Every student has their own unique education journey and should be able to move between institutions and receive full credit for their work," said Luis Rincon, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Acadeum. "We are proud to support the innovative collaboration of NCCCS and NCICU as we work towards greater credit mobility through transfer pathways." 

To learn more about the transfer initiative, contact Dr. Hope Williams at [email protected].

ABOUT THE NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM
The North Carolina Community College System is a network of 58 community colleges created to improve the quality of life across North Carolina by opening the door to opportunities that minimize barriers to post-secondary education, maximize student success and develop a globally and multi-culturally competent workforce. The 58 institutions located throughout the state provide easy access to low-cost, high-quality educational opportunities and academic support that focuses on increasing employability.

ABOUT NCICU
North Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities (NCICU) supports, represents, and advocates for North Carolina independent higher education in the areas of state and federal public policy and on education issues with the other sectors of education in the state. It also raises funds through the Independent College Fund of North Carolina for student scholarships and enrichment experiences, provides research and information to and about private colleges and universities, conducts staff development opportunities and coordinates collaborative programs. The presidents of the 36 colleges and universities that we represent make up our Board of Directors.

ABOUT ACADEUM
Acadeum helps colleges and universities expand academic resources that support student progress and equitable access to workforce opportunities. Today, more than 500 higher education institutions are members of the Acadeum network to offer in-demand courses and credentials they need to keep learners on track, and bolster existing or offer new programs.Institutions can improve retention and completion, and offer workforce-aligned and stackable certifications, while also unlocking new revenue to increase financial sustainability. To learn more about Acadeum, please visit www.acadeum.com.

SOURCE North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU)