RALEIGH (August 27, 2021) – State education leaders sealed an agreement this week to expand a program for aspiring teachers to start their education at a North Carolina community college and finish at one of the state’s public universities.

Thomas Stith III, President of the NC Community College System, and UNC System President Peter Hans signed the agreement to expand the program so that would-be teachers can earn an associate degree at 52 of the state’s 58 community colleges, then transfer to one of 15 public universities in the UNC System.

“The objective is to provide a smooth transition for our students,” said Stith. The students would earn either an Associate in Arts in Teacher Preparation or an Associate in Science in Teacher Preparation before transferring to a teacher preparation program at a state university.

“We appreciate this needed opportunity to better align with our partners within the UNC System to accelerate student progress and support the teacher education pipeline in North Carolina,” Stith said.

Schools of education at UNC campuses – which supply the largest share of North Carolina’s teachers – saw a 30% decline in students during the last decade. But Hans said the new agreement should help the state recruit and prepare more teachers.

“We’ve got tremendous needs in North Carolina – a real lack of qualified teachers,” Hans said. “What a wonderful profession – (you can) change people’s lives,” he said, adding that he could name a dozen teachers who were instrumental in his own education.

THE EFFORT EXPANDS on a pilot program between Johnston Community College and NC State University.

As President of the Community College System at the time, Hans told Higher Ed Works in 2018 that the program would hold down student debt and help rural students, in particular, remain in their communities.

“Find a way to hold down their student debt, because those are modest salaries at the end of the day,” he said at the time.

Hans noted this week that the effort is similar to the RIBN program, which allows nursing students to start their education at a community college and finish at one of several UNC campuses.

“We’ve got to do more of that,” he said.

A list of participating community colleges and universities can be found on page 7 of the agreement here. Stith said that in addition to the 52 colleges listed in the agreement, other NC community colleges plan to add the program in Fall 2022.