DURHAM — Nearly all students who transferred from Durham Tech to four-year UNC campuses had a grade-point average above 2.0 after one year at their new schools, according to a new study.

The 2009 N.C. Community College System Critical Success Factors report card gives Durham Technical Community College high grades in seven of the eight benchmarks that were measured during the 2007-08 academic year. The report card -- which is submitted to the North Carolina General Assembly -- indicates how well the state's 58 community colleges meet statewide performance measures and serve students, business and industry and the community.

"I am pleased and proud of Durham Tech's performance on these critical success factors," said Bill Ingram, president of the college. "These results reflect wide-ranging excellence in all our programs and services. They are the result of commitment and hard work on the part of our dedicated and professional faculty and staff."

While the report card indicated that statewide, 88 percent of community college graduates maintained at least a 2.0 GPA -- equivalent to a C -- at a four-year UNC institution a year later, 96 percent of Durham Tech's students did.

In other measures, 97 percent of the students who completed their studies at Durham Tech were satisfied with the quality of the college's programs and services, compared to a state standard of 90 percent.

Eighty-eight percent of Durham Tech students passed state licensure and certification tests the first time they took the tests; the state rate was 80 percent.

Durham Tech also received high marks from business/industry clients, 90 percent of whom said they were satisfied with the quality of the college's programs and service, the same grade as the state standard.

The only measure in which Durham Tech did not meet the state standard was in passing rates of students in developmental courses. The statewide figure is 75 percent, while only 68 percent passed those courses at the Durham school.

Officials at Durham Tech attributed that lag to the school's stricter grading policy, which requires a B average to pass developmental courses.

The scores on the state report cards have been consistently good through the years, said Wanda Maggart, Durham Tech's senior vice president for institutional advancement. "We have had a track record of very positive report cards," Maggart said. "We are usually either perfect [in meeting benchmarks] or almost each time."