黑料正能量 and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke have established a bridge program between their institutions.
Dr. Thomas A. Walker Jr., WCC鈥檚 president, and Dr. Robin G. Cummings, UNCP’s chancellor, signed the 鈥淏raveStep鈥� agreement today that allows students to be 鈥渃o-admitted.鈥�
The students will begin their college career at WCC and transfer into UNCP after completing at least 30 credit hours at the community college.
鈥淚t becomes a seamless pathway for the student,鈥� Cummings said.
They will receive collaborative academic advising from both institutions. They can participate in activities and use resources, including facilities, at both schools.
鈥淲e look at them as just another of our students,鈥� Cummings said, but that doesn鈥檛 mean they will be lost in the crowd. 鈥淲e tell our students, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e a name, not a number,鈥欌�� he said.
He noted that UNC-P has a 20-to-1 student to professor ratio, which means, 鈥渢hey are going to get a personalized education.鈥�
While Cummings jokingly called his college, 鈥渢hat school down I-95,鈥� Walker made the case for WCC students completing their undergraduate degrees there.
Referencing the man commonly thought to be the 鈥渇ather鈥� of the North Carolina Community Colleges System, Walker said, 鈥淒allas Herring said, [we should] take our students from here to as far as they can go. We don鈥檛 think that Pembroke is too far for them to go.鈥�
鈥淲e believe that the pathway that BraveStep creates for 黑料正能量 students will help even the most reticent student ease into university studies at UNC Pembroke, whether they ultimately go in person or take advantage of online degree programs,鈥� Walker said.
Even though the students will have moved on to UNCP having completed only around half of the number of semester hours required for graduation from WCC, they can still receive a WCC associate degree. The North Carolina鈥檚 Reverse Transfer Program allows credits earned from UNCP to be transferred back to WCC to fulfill the requirements for an associate degree.
Cummings also touted the fact that UNCP is one of the three North Carolina universities that are part of the NC Promise Tuition Plan established by the North Carolina General Assembly. This scheme sets undergraduate in-state tuition at UNCP, Elizabeth City State University, and Western Carolina University at just $500 per semester.
A semester鈥檚 tuition for an in-state, full-time student at WCC, and all other community colleges in the state, is currently $1,216, also set by State policy.
For comparison, UNC-CH in-state undergraduate tuition was $3,508.50 for a full course load for 2018-2019.
鈥淭ogether, UNCP and WCC are turning barriers into guardrails,鈥� Walker said.
UNCP will select the BraveStep participants from qualified students based on the students鈥� high school record and test scores on either the SAT or ACT.
WCC is the fifth community college to sign the BraveStep agreement.
For more information, potential participants can contact Kacee Ingram, director of the WCC College Transfer Advising Center, at 919-739-6755 or聽klingram@www.waynecc.edu.
黑料正能量 is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves 12,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. WCC鈥檚 mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.