Getting an Associate Degree in Reverse | Eastern North Carolina Now

    WASHINGTON, NC     Josh Meier recently stopped in at Beaufort County Community College to check in with former teachers and to pick up his new Associate in Science degree. Meier earned his degree while working on his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering at NC State. He will graduate with his BS in the spring of 2017, but in the meantime he adds an associate degree to his resume.

    Meier earned his newest associate degree through a process called "reverse transfer" in which courses he takes at a four-year university can be tacked on to coursework completed at a community college to fulfill a two-year degree. The reverse transfer program was piloted by the NC Community College System in 2013 in partnership with the UNC System to create a safety net for students transferring between institutions. In case a student is unable to complete the course load for a bachelor's degree, they would still have an associate degree to enforce the work they have completed.

    Over 1,400 students have taken advantage of the program across the state in the past three years. Supported by a "Credit When It's Due" grant from USA Funds, the program was piloted across eight UNC campus and 15 community colleges. The Lumina Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Helios Education Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have also supported the program. The program has since been expanded to include the 74 public institutions across the state, including Beaufort County Community College.

    It's a simple process for students to participate. Students with 16 college-level credits from a single community college are eligible when they transfer to a UNC campus. If a student participates, they will have their records transmitted back to the community college and upon completing 60 total credit hours, they are awarded an associate degree. There are 26,000 students enrolled as undergraduates at UNC campuses who began their education at an NC community college. Many of them took some courses, but may not have earned a degree.

    Receiving an associate degree can be a morale booster for students: a half-way mark on a long journey. It can also ensure that the time and work they have put in is not lost. Students who attend community colleges often have a different set of circumstances to deal with than other students in the UNC System. Many of them have families or economic circumstances that to force them to leave college. An associate degree opens up employment opportunities and can increase students' earnings.

    For Meier, his new associate degree will confirm his general education program (GEP) credits, reducing any unnecessary redundancy that may have occurred when he transferred to NC State. Meier had also received an Associate in Electrical Engineering Technology and an Associate in Electronics Engineering Technology from BCCC. "I've been in school for six years," said Meier, who began at BCCC. "I'm ready to start working."

    As students like Meier continue to take advantage of the program, more residents of North Carolina will have post-secondary degrees, making sure that their hard work does not go unrewarded.

Attila Nemecz
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