Transfer to University Programs

Students Planning to Transfer to a Four-Year Institution

Students taking classes in the Associate in Arts (AA), Associate in Art Teacher Preparation (AATP), Associate in Fine Arts (AFA), Associate in Science (AS), and Associate in Science Teacher Preparation (ASTP) programs usually plan to transfer to a four-year college or university to earn a Bachelor’s Degree. Surry Community College encourages these students to earn the two-year degree before transferring because AA and AS graduates receive significant benefits and protections as transfer students if they meet certain conditions. These protections and conditions are outlined in the sections below. The North Carolina Community College System, of which Surry Community College is a member, has established an agreement with The University of North Carolina system that helps community college students successfully transfer the credits earned at the community college to UNC institutions so that students do not have to repeat classes after transfer. This agreement, called the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement, is explained below.

Students who transfer to a four-year UNC institution before earning a transfer degree should prioritize taking courses in the Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) because students earning a “C” or better in these classes are guaranteed to receive credit toward the university’s lower-division general education course requirements. More information is provided below for students who transfer before completing the degree.

Comprehensive Articulation Agreement

The Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) applies to all 58 North Carolina community colleges and all 16 constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina:

1. Appalachian State University
2. East Carolina University
3. Elizabeth City State University
4. Fayetteville State University
5. North Carolina A&T University
6. North Carolina Central University
7. North Carolina State University
8. UNC Asheville
9. UNC Chapel Hill
10. UNC Charlotte
11. UNC Greensboro
12. UNC Pembroke
13. UNC Wilmington
14. UNC School of the Arts
15. Western Carolina University
16. Winston-Salem State University

The CAA is applicable to all North Carolina community college students who successfully complete a course designated as transferable or graduate with an Associate in Arts (AA) or Associate in Science (AS) degree and transfer to a constituent institution of The University of North Carolina.

Many private North Carolina institutions are a part of the Independent Colleges and Universities Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (ICAA), which contains the same regulations and requirements outlined on the following pages. A few of the participating colleges and universities are listed below:

1. Barton College
2. Gardner-Webb University
3. Guilford College
4. Lees-McRae College
5. Lenoir-Rhyne University
6. Salem College
7. Wingate University

A full list can be found online at: College Transfer Articulation Agreements

Students Earning the AA or AS Degree

Students earning the Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree who want to transfer to a UNC institution enjoy many benefits as long as they meet certain conditions. The benefits and conditions associated with earning the degree are explained below.

Assured Admissions

One benefit is the Transfer Assured Admissions Policy (TAAP), which guarantees admission to one of the 16 participating institutions under the following conditions:

1. Admission is not assured to a specific campus or specific program or major.
2. Students must have graduated from a North Carolina community college with an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree.
3. Students must meet all the requirements of the CAA.
4. 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.
5. Students must be academically eligible for re-admission to the last institution attended.
6. Students must meet all judicial requirements of the institution to which they apply.
7. Students must meet all application requirements at the receiving institution, including submission of all required documentation by the deadlines.

Other Benefits

Other important benefits are listed below.

1. The CAA enables North Carolina Community College graduates of two-year AA and AS degree programs who are admitted to constituent institutions of CAA to transfer with junior status.
2. Universities cannot place requirements on students transferring under the CAA that are not required of their native students.
3. A student who completes the AA or AS degree prior to transfer to a UNC institution will have fulfilled the institution’s lower-division general education requirements.
4. Community college graduates of the AA or AS 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 participating institution.

Students should note the following points:

1. CAA courses taken beyond the 60-61 semester hours of credit in which the student received less than a “C” will not negate the provisions of the CAA.
2. Due to degree requirements of some majors, additional courses at the 4-year institution may be required beyond the general education and pre-major courses taken at the community college.
3. Requirements for admission to some major programs may require additional pre-specialty courses beyond the pre-major taken at the community college. Students entering such programs may need more than two academic years of course work to complete the baccalaureate degree, depending on requirements of the program.
4. 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.

Four-Year Degree Plans

Beyond the UGETC 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 participating institution will develop, publish, and maintain four-year degree plans identifying community college courses 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 participating 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 participating institution with all courses fulfilling lower division general education and other degree requirements.

Find these plans online at: NC Community College Transfer

Right to Appeal

If a transfer student perceives that the terms of the CAA have not been honored, he or she may follow the Transfer Credit Appeal Procedure as outlined in Appendix E in the following link: Transfer Credit Appeal Procedure

Students Transferring Before Completing a Transfer Degree

A North Carolina community college student who satisfactorily completes, with a grade of “C” or better, courses identified in the Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) will receive credit 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, 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 UGETC course will receive transfer credit for the course, but the receiving institution will determine whether the course will count as general education, pre-major, or elective credit.

Uniform Articulation Agreement

The RN to BSN articulation agreement establishes the procedures governing the transfer of credits for students who graduate from North Carolina Community College AAS programs and apply to RN to BSN programs at constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina.

Eligibility

A student who completes an AAS in Nursing with a GPA of at least 2.0 and a grade of C or better in the RN to BSN articulation agreement courses listed in Blocks one through three and who holds a current unrestricted license as a Registered Nurse in North Carolina will have fulfilled the UNC institutions lower-division general education requirements as well as nursing program entry requirements. However, because nursing program admissions are competitive, no student is guaranteed admission to the program of her or his choice. All other applicants to RN to BSN programs at constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina are eligible to transfer credits on a course-by-course basis. In order to use the RN to BSN Articulation Agreement effectively, students should follow the prescribed five block course list.

Participating Programs

Five Block Degree Plan with Transfer Course List

Block 1 (23 course credits)

• Consists of certain prerequisite nursing courses that are (or will be) taken as a part of all North Carolina community college AAS nursing programs. The courses are:

Block 2 (18-19 credits):

• Consists of additional university general education requirements that are not a part of an AAS degree but are required to earn a BSN.
• These general education requirements will be met by completing one listed course in each of the first four categories and two in the last.

Block 3 (17-18 credits):

• Consists of additional nursing or other requirements that are not a part of an AAS degree but are required to earn a BSN. These courses are:

Note: Individual nursing programs may require a maximum of two courses or six credits to meet school specific degree requirements that are not a part of the RN to BSN Articulation Agreement. In no case will these additional requirements necessitate completing more than 128 credits in order to earn a BSN. Each UNC RN to BSN institution will develop, publish, and maintain on their website a RN to BSN degree plan that identifies specific degree requirements that are not part of the RN to BSN Articulation Agreement.

Block 4 (normally 30-34 credits but may vary depending on credit allocation in block 5):

• Consists of credit awarded by the constituent institutions for nursing course (NUR) content taken as a part of the AAS degree program.
• These credits are awarded only after an RN student has successfully completed one or two initial nursing courses.

Block 5 (remaining credits, normally 30-34 but may vary depending on credit allocation in block 4):

• Consists of university-based courses that are taken as a part of the RN to BSN program.
• The number of awarded credits in blocks 1 through 5 must total between 120 and 128; the number of credits required to earn a BSN at the UNC constituent institutions’ RN to BSN Programs.

RN to BSN Articulation Agreement Transfer Credit Appeal Procedure

If a student from a North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) college believes the terms of the RN to BSN Articulation Agreement have not been honored by a University of North Carolina (UNC) institution to which the student has been admitted, the student may invoke the RN to BSN Articulation Agreement Transfer Credit Appeal Procedure.

Steps in Filing an Appeal

Step #1:

• By the last day of classes of the first semester for which admission is offered, the student must submit an RN to BSN Transfer Credit Appeal Form along with any supporting documentation to the Director of Admissions or other campus designee at the UNC campus to which the student has been admitted. Students first enrolling at the senior institution in a summer session must submit their appeal by the end of the subsequent fall semester.
• The student must specify on the appeal form the specific RN to BSN AA language that is in contention. Appeals that lack this information will not be considered.
• The Director of Admission or other campus designee will review the appeal and respond in writing (email or letter) to the student within 15 business days.

Step #2:

• If the student is not satisfied with the decision of the Director of Admission or other campus designee, he/she may appeal on the same form to the Chief Academic Officer (Provost) of the specific University within 15 days of written notice of the director’s decision.
• The Provost will review the appeal and respond in writing (email or letter) to the student within 15 business days of receiving the student’s appeal.

Step #3

• If the student is not satisfied with the decision of the Provost, he/she may appeal to the RNBSNTC subcommittee, composed of the Co-chairs, a representative from the UNC General Administration, and a representative from the NCCCS. The student must submit the appeal to the subcommittee within 15 days of the receipt of the Provost’s decision. The appeal to the RNBSNTC subcommittee should be sent to:
  UNC-GA RN to BSN Transfer Committee RN to BSN Articulation Agreement Appeal
  PO Box 2688, Chapel Hill, NC 27515

If a consensus is reached by the subcommittee, the student will be notified within 15 business days; if a consensus resolution is not reached, the appeal will be forwarded by the subcommittee to the full RNBSNTC within 10 business days. The RNBSNTC will review the appeal and notify the student of the final decision within 10 business days of receiving the appeal.

NC Career and College Promise Transfer Pathways

High school juniors and seniors are eligible to enroll in one of the following Career and College Promise College Transfer Pathways if they meet the following criteria: (a) have an unweighted GPA of at least 2.8 on high school courses and (b) demonstrate college readiness in English, reading, and mathematics. Students are not obligated to complete a pathway or to take classes in a particular order, except in the case of prerequisites.

To maintain eligibility for continued enrollment, a student must continue to make progress toward high school graduation and maintain a 2.0 GPA in college coursework after completing two courses. A student who falls below a 2.0 GPA after completing two college courses will be subject to the college’s policy for satisfactory academic progress. With approval, a student who completes a College Transfer Pathway while still enrolled in high school may continue to earn college transfer credits leading to the completion of the Associate in Arts, Associate in Fine Arts in Visual Arts, or the Associate in Science.

Surry Community College offers CCP College Transfer Pathway courses at the Center for Public Safety in Mt. Airy, the Elkin Center, the Pilot Center, the Yadkin Center, the main campus, and online.

Degrees and Pathways