Comprehensive Articulation Agreement

The 2014 Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) is a pact between North Carolina’s university system and its community colleges that provides a smooth transfer of students between the two systems. Students receive the most benefit from transferring the completed associate in arts or associate in science degree but they can also transfer Universal General Education Transfer Courses (UGETC), general education, or some elective courses.

The CAA provides certain assurances to the transferring student:

• It identifies community college courses that are appropriate for transfer as electives to satisfy the general education core or as pre-professional courses. If taken at a North Carolina community college, these courses will transfer if you complete the course with a grade of C or higher.
   
• It guarantees junior status and 60-61 semester hours of credit to transfer students accepted to the university if those students have earned the associate in arts or associate in science degree.
   
• It guarantees admission to one of the 16 UNC institutions, although not to a specific campus or to a specific program or major. Details of this guarantee are explained in the Transfer Assured Admission Policy (TAAP) below.

Schools that Honor the CAA

All 16 UNC-System universities are part of the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement. Get a more in-depth look at each school’s degree plans.

Transfer Assured Admissions Policy (TAAP)

The CAA assures admission to one of the 16 UNC institutions with the following stipulations:

• Admission is not assured to a specific campus or to a 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 Comprehensive Articulation Agreement.
   
• Students must have an overall GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, as calculated by the college from which he or she 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 the student applies.
   
• 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, he or she will receive a letter from that institution directing the student to the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) website, where the student will be presented with the conditions of the TAAP. If these conditions are met, the student will be given information regarding space availability and contacts within the UNC system. The student should contact those institutions to get specific information about admissions and available majors.

In the rare instance that the previous steps do not result in admission to a UNC institution, the student should contact the CFNC Resource Center at 1-866-866-CFNC.

Please note the TAAP policy does not apply to the private colleges and universities that are part of the CAA.

Transfer Associate in Fine Arts Degrees

The Associate in Fine Arts (AFA) in Visual Arts and Associate in Fine Arts (AFA) in Music degrees are designed to transfer into Bachelor of Fine Arts programs (BFA) in art or music. The community college student in an AFA program who satisfactorily completes, with a grade of C or better, all courses designed for college transfer will receive credit for these courses. However, not all UNC-System universities have BFA degrees, so they may transfer specialized art or music courses as elective credits. AFA students who transfer must meet the general education requirements of the receiving university. Universities may require additional courses to meet the admissions criteria for schools of art or music or to be considered a junior in a BFA program.

Transfer Applied Science or General Education Degrees

The best choice for a smooth articulation with the university is an AA or AS degree. Applied Science or General Education degrees have different mixes of general education, elective, and major courses, which make them less easy to articulate with senior-level institutions. Students who complete Applied Science and General Education degrees do transfer, but that is not the intent of these programs, and the articulation is not as smooth as with AA and AS degrees.

Articulation Agreement with Private Colleges and Universities

As of August 23, 2018, 30 private colleges and universities in North Carolina have signed the Independent Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (ICAA) with the NCCCS.  The ICAA enables North Carolina community college graduates of two-year Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) degree programs who are admitted to a Signatory Institution of North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities to transfer with junior status if they follow the senior institution’s published baccalaureate degree completion plans and meet other established criteria.  Colleges and universities who have signed the ICAA are as follows: