NC Community College System, NC Independent Colleges and Universities approve articulation agreement to promote teacher education degree programs

RALEIGH, N.C. – Students at North Carolina’s community colleges who aspire to become teachers can now seamlessly transfer to one of a number of private colleges in the state to complete a bachelor’s degree in education.

NC Community College System interim president, Bill Carver, and North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities president, Hope Williams, recently signed the Teacher Education/Educator Preparation Uniform Articulation Agreement following votes of approval by both sectors’ governing boards.

“This agreement opens the door for community college students wanting to pursue a teaching career,” Carver said. “It will provide a pathway for future teachers in which all of the credits from the associate degree transfer to an independent college or university in North Carolina. Partnerships like this will help address the teacher shortage in our state.”

“Educating teachers is one of the reasons so many of North Carolina’s private colleges and universities were founded,” Williams said. “This agreement builds on that legacy and history. Today, as many of our teachers reach retirement age, the need for a pipeline of teachers in North Carolina is even more important.”

The agreement is an extension of the Independent Comprehensive Articulation Agreement that was signed by the two sectors in mid 1990s and will provide a progression degree plan that includes required general education and prerequisite courses that are acceptable to all signatory programs.

The NCICU Board approved the agreement on Oct 20 and the State Board of Community Colleges approved it on Nov. 20. The agreement is effective with the 2020 fall semester.

Currently, 32 community colleges offer the Associate in Arts in Teacher Preparation and the Associate in Science in Teacher Preparation and are participating in the agreement. Thirty-one NCICU campuses have Educator Preparation Programs approved by the N.C. State Board of Education and most campuses are expected to sign onto the agreement in the coming weeks.

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