North Carolina Community College Systems – University of North Carolina Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA)

Transfer Assured Admissions Policy (TAAP)

The TAAP assures admission to one of the 16 UNC System Institutions under the following conditions:

• Admission is not assured to a specific campus or specific program or major.
• Students must have graduated from a North Carolina community college with an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree.
• Students must meet all requirements of the CAA.
• Students must have an overall GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, as calculated by the college from which they graduated, and a grade of C or better in all CAA courses.
• Students must be academically eligible for re-admission to the last institution attended.
• Students must meet judicial requirements of the institution to which they apply.
• Students must meet all application requirements at the receiving institution, including the submission of all required documentation by stated deadlines.

If a student is denied admission to a UNC institution, then they will be notified in writing by the institution. In this notification, the student will be directed to the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) website where the student will be given information regarding space availability and contacts in the respective UNC System institutions' admission offices. It is the student’s responsibility to contact each institution’s admissions office to get specific information about admissions and available majors.

If the previous steps do not result in admission to a UNC System institution, then the student should contact the CFNC Resource Center at 1-866-866-CFNC.

Transfer of Credits

The CAA establishes the procedures governing the transfer of credits for students who transfer from a North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) institution to a University of North Carolina System (UNC) institution. The CAA does not address admission to a specific institution or to a specific major within an institution.

Eligibility. To be eligible for the transfer of credits under the CAA, the student must graduate from the community college with an Associate in Arts (AA) or Associate in Science (AS) degree and have an overall Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale and a grade of "C" or better in all CAA courses. Students who do not complete the degree are eligible to transfer credits on a course-by-course basis.

Definition of the General Education Courses and Pre-Major Courses. The Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degree programs in the North Carolina Community College System require a total of 60 or 61 semester hours credit for graduation and are transferrable to any UNC institution. The overall total is comprised of both lower-division general education and pre-major courses. This curriculum reflects the distribution of discipline areas commonly included in institution-wide, lower-division general education requirements for the baccalaureate degree.

The Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degree programs include general education requirements that represent the fundamental foundation for success and include study in the areas of English composition, communications, humanities and fine arts, natural sciences and mathematics, and social and behavioral sciences. Within these discipline areas, community colleges must include opportunities for the achievement of competence in reading, writing, oral communication, fundamental mathematical skills, and basic computer use. Students must meet the receiving university’s foreign language and/or health and physical education requirements, if applicable, prior to or after transfer to a UNC System institution.

The AA and AS degree programs of study are structured to include two components:

• Universal General Education Transfer Component courses comprise a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit, and
• Additional general education, pre-major, and elective courses that prepare students for successful transfer into selected majors at UNC System institutions will bring the total number of hours in the degree programs to 60-61 semester hours.

To ensure maximum transferability of credits, students should select a transfer major and follow the preferred transfer university options in the CFNC Transfer Guides before completing 30 semester hours of credit. Additional general education, pre-major, and elective courses should be selected based on a student’s intended major and transfer institution. 

Each receiving institution will identify community college course equivalencies and publicize an equivalency course crosswalk to ensure transfer of credit uniformity and transparency.

The specific number and distribution of courses used to fulfill the requirement in each of these areas will be identified by each community college as meeting its own general education requirements. The Universal General Education Transfer Component courses and other required courses will be drawn from those courses designated in the North Carolina Community College Combined Course Library as being transferable. This will preserve the autonomy of each community college to develop its own general education program, including those aspects that make its program unique. Students should follow the Transfer Guides for specifics regarding courses and distribution.

Transfer of Associate in Arts and Associate in Science Degree Program

1. The CAA enables North Carolina community college graduates of two-year Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degree programs who are admitted to constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina to transfer with junior status.
2. Requirements for admission to some major programs may necessitate additional courses not available at the community college. Time to earn a baccalaureate degree may be impacted for students entering such programs, and students should plan accordingly.
3. Universities cannot place requirements on students transferring under the CAA that are not required of their students that begin their higher education journeys at that university.
4. A student who completes the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree prior to transfer to a UNC System institution will have fulfilled the UNC System institution’s lower-division general education requirements.
5. Each UNC System campus will establish and publish a campus policy/guideline outlining the campus decision whether a student who receives an AA or AS degree through reverse transfer will have fulfilled the UNC System institution’s lower-division general education requirements.
6. Additional courses at the UNC System institution may be required beyond the general education courses and pre-major courses taken at the community college.
7. Community college graduates of the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree programs who have earned 60 semester hours in approved transfer courses with a grade of "C" or better and an overall GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale will receive at least 60 semester hours of academic credit upon admission to a UNC System institution.
8. All courses approved for transfer in the CAA are designated as fulfilling general education or pre-major/elective requirements. While general education and pre-major courses may also be used as electives, elective courses may not be used to fulfill general education requirements.
9. CAA courses taken beyond the 60-61 SHC of credit in which the student received less than a "C" will not negate the provisions of the CAA.

UNC Minimum Admissibility Requirements (MAR) and Minimum Course Requirements (MCR)

1. Students who complete the Associate in Arts or the Associate in Science degree will satisfy UNC System’s minimum admissibility requirements (MAR) and minimum course requirements (MCR).
2. Transfer students who are at least 21 years old are exempt from both MAR and MCR.
3. A transfer student will also be considered to have satisfied (MAR) and (MCR) if he or she has:
   • received the baccalaureate, or any higher degree, or
   • earned at least twenty-four (24) transferrable undergraduate credits from a regionally accredited postsecondary institution. Transferrable undergraduate credit counted as part of the 24 hours shall also include:
     • credit earned at foreign institutions deemed to have the equivalence of regional accreditation; equivalence of regional accreditation generally refers to recognition by the foreign country’s Ministry of Education and/or recognition by a credible organization offering credential evaluation services; and
     • credit awarded for prior learning as part of military service, with the military branch designated as the transfer institution.

Undergraduate credits awarded for AP (Advanced Placement), IB (International Baccalaureate), or other credit by exam shall not be included as part of these 24 hours.

Student not completing the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degrees. A North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) student who satisfactorily completes, with a grade of "C" or better, courses identified in the Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) will receive credit applied toward the university’s lower-division general education course requirements, subject to the following distribution limit: maximum of 6 hours in English Composition, 9 hours in Humanities/Fine Arts/Communications, 9 hours in Social/Behavioral Sciences, 8 hours in Mathematics, and 8 hours in the Natural Sciences.

A North Carolina community college student who satisfactorily completes a transfer course that is not designated as a Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) course will receive transfer credit for the course. The receiving institution will determine how the course counts.

Certification of University General Education Transfer Component Courses, Associate in Arts Degree, or Associate in Science Degree Completion. Certification of completion of the Associate in Arts or the Associate in Science degree is the responsibility of the community college at which the courses are successfully completed. Transcript identification of Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) courses is also the responsibility of the NCCCS institution at which the courses are completed. The transcripts of students who transfer before completing the degree will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis by the receiving university. The transferring student who has not completed the degree must meet the UNC System institution's general education requirements.

Four-Year Degree Plan for Community College Transfer Students. Beyond the Universal General Education Transfer Component courses, a program of study leading to the associate degree contains courses related to a student’s major or program emphasis. Pre-major course tracks prepare students to succeed in their chosen field and provide students with clear pathways to completion. Each UNC System institution will develop, publish, and maintain four-year degree plans identifying community college course that provide pathways leading to associate degree completion, admission into the major, and baccalaureate completion. Students who complete the AA or AS degree and the degree plan tracks published by a UNC System institution, and who are accepted into that institution and into that major within four years of initial enrollment at the community college, will continue into that major at the UNC System institution with all courses fulfilling lower-division general education and other degree requirements.

Transfer of courses taken in other associate degree programs. Students completing Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) courses will receive equivalent general education course credit for those courses at the receiving UNC System institution. For courses not designated as UGETC, the receiving UNC System institution will determine whether the course will count as general education or pre-major/elective credit.

Articulation of Associate in Fine Arts or Associate in Applied Science degree programs may be handled on a bilateral articulation agreement basis rather than on a state-wide basis. Under bilateral agreements, individual universities and one or more community colleges may join in a collaborative effort to facilitate the transfer of students from AFA or AAS degree programs to baccalaureate degree programs.

The TAC encourages the development of new bilateral articulation agreements among institutions; however, TAC will not maintain a current inventory of bilateral articulation agreements for AAS degree programs.

Transfer of courses not originated at North Carolina Community Colleges. Transfer courses that do not originate at a North Carolina Community College System institution or at a UNC System institution are allowed to be used to complete the AA or AS degree at an NCCCS institution and would fall under the protections of the CAA. Students transferring without the completed degree would have their individual courses from outside of NCCCS institutions subject to the receiving institution’s regular transfer articulation procedures.

Transfer of Advanced Placement (AP) course credit. Advanced Placement (AP) course credits, awarded for a score of three or higher, are acceptable as part 10 of a student's successfully completed Associate in Arts (AA) or Associate in Science (AS) degree under the CAA. Students who receive AP course credit at a community college but do not complete the AA or AS degree will have AP credit awarded on the basis of the receiving institution's AP policy. TAC recommends that the same guiding principle prescribed for AP course credit be exercised in the treatment of other NCCCS course credit awarded as part of the AA or AS degree under the CAA through other exams (e.g., IB, CLEP, DANTES, Cambridge, and local credit by exam or placement exam).

Transfer Credit Appeal

If a transfer student perceives that the terms of the CAA have not been honored, they may follow the Transfer Credit Appeal Procedure as outlined in Appendix E of the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement.

Students Enrolled Prior to Fall Semester 2014

Students officially enrolled in an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science program at a North Carolina community college prior to Fall Semester 2014 are subject to the conditions and protections contained in the CAA in place at the time of their initial enrollment as long as they have remained continuously enrolled.