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Career and College Promise

Session Law 2011-145, the Appropriations Act of 2011, authorizes the State Board of Education and the State Board of Community Colleges to establish the Career and College Promise program, effective January 1, 2012.

Career and College Promise provides seamless dual enrollment educational opportunities for eligible North Carolina high school students in order to accelerate completion of college certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees that lead to college transfer or provide entry-level job skills. North Carolina community colleges may offer the following Career and College Promise pathways aligned with the K-12 curriculum and career and college ready standards adopted by the State Board of Education:

1. A Core 44 College Transfer Pathway leading to a minimum of 30 hours of college transfer credit;
2. A Career and Technical Education Pathway leading to a certificate, diploma or degree;
3. A Cooperative Innovative High School Pathway approved under Part 9 of Article 16 of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes.

Core 44 College Transfer Pathway

1. The Career and College Promise Core 44 College Transfer Pathway requires the completion of at least thirty semester hours of transfer courses, including English and mathematics.
2. To be eligible for enrollment, a high school student must meet the following criteria:
   • Be a high school junior or senior;
   • Have a weighted GPA of 3.0 on high school courses; and
   • Demonstrate college readiness on an assessment or placement test (see test score information below).   A student must demonstrate college readiness in English, reading and mathematics to be eligible for enrollment in a Core 44 College Transfer Pathway.
3. 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.
4. A student must enroll in one Core 44 College Transfer Pathway program of study and may not substitute courses in one program for courses in another.
5. A student may change his or her program of study major with approval of the high school principal or his/her designee and the college’s chief student development administrator.
6. With approval of the high school principal or his/her designee and the college’s chief student development administrator, a student who completes a Core 44 College Transfer Pathway while still enrolled in high school may continue to earn college transfer credits leading to the completion of the 44-hour general education transfer core.
7. With approval of the high school principal or his/her designee and the college’s chief student development administrator, a student may enroll in both a Core 44 College Transfer Pathway program of study and a Career Technical Education program of study.
8. Currently enrolled high school students (Fall Semester 2011) who have successfully completed a college transfer STEM course with a grade of “C” or better may be admitted into a Career and College Promise College Core 44 Transfer Pathway in Spring Semester 2012 without meeting the entry GPA or testing requirements (i.e. PLAN).  Students will be required to meet course prerequisite requirements.

College Readiness Benchmarks on Approved Diagnostic Assessment Tests

 In addition to the diagnostic assessments, colleges may use the following SAT and ACT scores recommended by the testing companies as benchmarks for college readiness:

Career Technical Education Pathway

1. The Career and College Promise Career Technical Education Pathway leads to a certificate or diploma aligned with a high school Career Cluster.
2. To be eligible for enrollment, a high school student must meet the following criteria:
   • Be a high school junior or senior;
   • Have a weighted GPA of 3.0 on high school courses or have the recommendation of the high school principal or his/her designee; and
   • Meet the prerequisites for the career pathway.
3. High school counselors should consider students’ PLAN scores in making pathway recommendations.
4. College Career Technical Education courses may be used to provide partial or full fulfillment of a four-unit career cluster. Where possible, students should be granted articulated credit based on the local or state North Carolina High School to Community College articulation agreement.
5. To maintain eligibility for continued enrollment, a student must
• Continue to make progress toward high school graduation, and
• Maintain a 2.0 in college coursework after completing two courses.
6. A student must enroll in one program of study and may not substitute courses in one program for courses in another. The student may change his or her program of study major with approval of the high school principal or his/her designee and the college’s chief student development administrator.
7. Currently enrolled high school students (Fall Semester 2011) who have successfully completed a community college technical education course with a grade of “C” or better may be admitted into a Career and College Promise Career Technical Education Certificate Pathway in Spring Semester 2012 without meeting the entry GPA or testing requirements (i.e. PLAN).  Students will be required to meet course prerequisite requirements.