North Carolina § 115D-4 - 1. College transfer program approval; standards for programs.

§ 115D-4. 1. College transfer program approval; standards for programs.

Repealed by Session Laws 1995, c. 288, s. 1, effective September 1, 1995. The State Board of Community Colleges may approve the addition of the college transfer program to a community college. If addition of the college transfer program to an institution would require a substantial increase in funds, State Board approval shall be subject to appropriation of funds by the General Assembly for this purpose. Addition of the college transfer program shall not decrease an institution's ability to provide programs within its basic mission of vocational and technical training and basic academic education. The State Board of Community Colleges shall develop appropriate criteria and standards to regulate the addition of the college transfer program to institutions. The State Board of Community Colleges shall develop appropriate criteria and standards to regulate the operation of college transfer programs. The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina shall report to each community college and to the State Board of Community Colleges in accordance with G.S. 116-11(10b) on the academic performance of that community college's transfer students. If the State Board of Community Colleges finds that college transfer students from a community college are not consistently performing adequately at a four-year college, the Board shall review the community college's program and determine what steps are necessary to remedy the problem. The Board shall report annually to the General Assembly on the reports it receives and on what steps it is taking to remedy problems that it finds. History (1987, c. 564, s. 4; 1995, c. 288, s. 1; 1999-84, s. 2; 2011-145, s. 8.2(a).) Cross References. - For provisions regarding implementation and monitoring of the plan for transfer of credits between North Carolina institutions of higher education as enacted by Session Laws 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 625, see the editor's note under G.S. 115D-5 . NC Guaranteed Admission Program (NCGAP). - Session Laws 2015-241, s. 11.7(a)-(h), as amended by Session Laws 2016-94, s. 11.2(a)-(d), provides: "(a) The General Assembly finds that the six-year graduation rate for students pursuing a baccalaureate degree from any constituent institution of The University of North Carolina is too low. The General Assembly further finds that it is important to design and implement a program for the purpose of achieving the following goals: to assist more students to obtain a baccalaureate degree within a shorter time period; to provide students with a college education at significantly lower costs for both the student and the State; to help decrease the amount of debt resulting from loans that a student may owe upon graduation; to provide a student with an interim degree that may increase a student's job opportunities if the student chooses not to continue postsecondary education; and to provide easier access to academic counseling that will assist a student in selecting coursework that reflects the student's educational and career goals and helps the student succeed academically. "(b) The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall jointly study and evaluate how a deferred admission program, to be known as the North Carolina Guaranteed Admission Program (NCGAP), for students identified as academically at risk and designed pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, would address the issues and help achieve the goals set out in subsection (a) of this section. In its study the Board of Governors and State Board of Community Colleges shall also consider the best procedure for implementing NCGAP and the fiscal impact it may have with respect to enrollment. "By January 1, 2017, the President of The University of North Carolina, in consultation with the Board of Governors, shall adopt a plan to improve student completion of baccalaureate degrees that includes specific targets for each constituent institution's completion rates and that is effective for the 2017-2018 academic year. For the purposes of this section, 'completion rates' may include the four and six year graduation rate of first-time, full-time freshman or other methods of measuring completion that may more accurately capture the success of each institution's undergraduate population. The plan shall allow for a variety of strategies designed to best meet the individual constituent institutions' needs, such as, but not limited to: redesigned courses, early alerts systems, tutoring, degree mapping, and innovative merit-based completion incentives. "(c) NCGAP shall be a deferred admission program that requires a student who satisfies the admission criteria of a constituent institution, but whose academic credentials are not as competitive as other students admitted to the institution, to enroll in a community college in this State and earn an associate degree prior to enrolling as a student at the constituent institution. A student who earns an associate degree from a community college in this State within three years from the date of the deferred acceptance is guaranteed admission at that constituent institution to complete the requirements for a baccalaureate degree. A constituent institution shall hold in reserve an enrollment slot in the appropriate future academic year for any student who accepts a deferred admission. A constituent institution shall also reduce its enrollment for each academic year by the number of deferred admissions granted for that academic year. "(d) The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall report their finding and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Office of State Budget and Management by March 1, 2016. The report shall include an analysis of the fiscal impact NCGAP may have with regard to enrollment at constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina and at community colleges, the number of students who may participate in NCGAP, and its effect on FTEs. "The President of the University of North Carolina shall report on the plan to improve student completions to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Office of State Budget and Management by January 1, 2017. "(e) Based on the analysis conducted by the Board of Governors and the State Board of Community Colleges pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and the recommendations made pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, each constituent institution shall design a deferred admission program as part of NCGAP for implementation at the institution. The institution shall design the program so that it may be implemented at the institution beginning with the 2017-2018 fiscal year and applied to the institution's admission process for the 2018-2019 academic year and each subsequent academic year if the plan required by subsection (b) of this section is not implemented. "(f) The State Board of Community Colleges, in consultation with the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina, shall adopt rules to ensure that a student participating in NCGAP is provided counseling and assistance in selecting coursework that reflects the student's educational and career goals and that provides a smooth transition from the community college to the constituent institution. "(g) NCGAP shall be implemented at all constituent institutions and all community colleges beginning with the 2017-2018 fiscal year and shall apply to admissions policies at each constituent institution and community college beginning with the 2018-2019 academic year and each subsequent academic year if the plan required by subsection (b) of this section is not implemented. "(h) This section does not apply to the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics." Session Laws 2015-241, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2015.'" Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2015-2017 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2015-241, s. 33.6, is a severability clause. Early Education Articulation Agreement. - Session Laws 2017-68, s. 2(a)-(c) provides: "(a) By March 1, 2018, the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall develop an articulation agreement for the transfer of credits earned for an associate degree in an early childhood education program at a community college toward a baccalaureate degree in an early childhood education program at a constituent institution for the purposes of the student obtaining teacher licensure in the area of Birth through Kindergarten. The articulation agreement shall apply to all community college campuses and constituent institutions with early childhood education programs. The articulation agreement may include that the community college student transferring credit and enrolling in the constituent institution has a minimum grade point average and a minimum Praxis I score. "(b) By April 15, 2018, the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the development of the articulation agreement and the plan for implementation of the articulation agreement at all community college campuses and constituent institutions with early childhood education programs. The systemwide articulation agreement for early childhood education programs entered into between The University of North Carolina and the Community College System shall apply beginning with the 2018-2019 academic year. "(c) This section is effective when it becomes law [June 28, 2017]." Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1995, c. 287, ss. 1-3, effective June 19, 1995, provides for the development, by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges, of a plan for the transfer of credits between the institutions of the North Carolina Community College System, and between those institutions and the constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina, the intention of the General Assembly to adopt a plan for the transfer of credits, and the implementation, by the State Board of Community Colleges, of a common course numbering system. Session Laws 2014-100, s. 10.7(a), (b), provides: "(a) The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall jointly study the various bilateral agreements and partnerships that exist between constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina and the community colleges throughout the State. The study shall specifically focus on those agreements and partnerships that aid in the transfer process and those agreements and partnerships that encourage or require students to complete some coursework at a community college before attending or transferring to a constituent institution. The study shall also provide data on the agreements and partnerships, to the extent this information is available, on all of the following: "(1) A description of the agreement or partnership; "(2) The number of years it has been in existence; "(3) The number of participants by year; and "(4) An analysis of student outcomes after a transfer under the agreement or partnership. "(b) The findings of the study shall be reported to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee on Education/Higher Education and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education by February 1, 2015. The final report shall also include recommendations on replication and expansion possibilities for the various agreements and partnerships." Session Laws 2014-100, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2014.'" Session Laws 2014-100, s. 38.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2014-2015 fiscal year." Session Laws 2014-100, s. 38.7, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2016-94, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2016.'" Session Laws 2016-94, s. 39.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2016-2017 fiscal year." Session Laws 2016-94, s. 39.7, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2017-57, s. 1(a), provides: "The President of The University of North Carolina shall implement the University of North Carolina Undergraduate Degree Completion Improvement Plan, developed in accordance with Section 11.7 of S.L. 2015-241, as amended by Section 11.2 of S.L. 2016-94, and presented to the General Assembly on December 31, 2016, effective beginning with the 2017-2018 academic year." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-145, s. 8.2(a), effective July 1, 2011, in subsection (e), deleted the last sentence of the first paragraph, which read: "The criteria and standards shall require all college transfer programs to continue to meet the accreditation standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools," and deleted the last paragraph, which read: "The State Board of Community Colleges shall report annually to the General Assembly on compliance of the community colleges with these criteria and standards."