University Transfer Frequently Asked Questions

University Transfer Frequently Asked Questions

Durham Tech’s University Transfer program is the best first step to a bachelor’s degree and beyond. Below is information to help you achieve your transfer goals. Use the button grid to view different sections.

Transfer Agreements

What is the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement?

The North Carolina Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) is a statewide agreement governing the transfer of credits between N.C. community colleges and N.C. public universities. Its objective is the facilitation of student transfer from two- to four-year institutions. The CAA establishes transfer policies and assures certain student rights in the transfer process.

N.C. community college students who earn an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree according to the guidelines of the CAA will transfer 60 credit hours, be treated as juniors, and be considered to have met all of the general education requirements at the receiving University of North Carolina (UNC) institution. The CAA also offers an appeals process for students who transfer under the agreement and feel that its policies have not been upheld by the transfer university. Visit the UNC System website for more information. 

Independent colleges and universities also have an Independent Comprehensive Articulation Agreement. View the list of private colleges and universities that are part of this agreement, which works the same way as the CAA.

Articulation Agreements that cover Early Childhood, Engineering, Visual Arts, RN to BSN and Teacher Preparation

Our other transfer pathways are governed by different agreements. View the Transfer Articulation Agreements listed below.

• Uniform Articulation Agreement Associate in Early Childhood
• Uniform Articulation Agreement Associate in Engineering
• Uniform Articulation Agreement Associate in Fine Arts (Visual Arts)
• Uniform Articulation Agreement RN to BSN Programs
• Uniform Articulation Agreement Associate in Arts and Associate in Science Teacher Preparation

Choosing a Plan of Study

The Plan of Study

A plan of study for the Associate degree is a listing of courses you need to complete to earn the degree. Plans of study can be found in the Programs and Pathways section of the website.

Which Plan of Study to Choose

If you plan to transfer to a four-year university, you should be in the Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, Associate in Engineering, Associate in Fine Arts, Associate in Arts in Teacher Preparation, or the Associate in Science in Teacher Preparation programs.  

There are two other transfer pathways especially for nursing and early childhood education students. The Associate in General Education-Nursing (A1030N) degree is designed for students who wish to obtain their Associate Degree in Nursing here at Durham Tech and work on their general education courses to bridge to a bachelor’s degree program at the four-year university. See the RN to BSN course selection guide for more information. 

The Early Childhood Education Transfer Associate Degree is for students who wish to earn their Early Childhood Associate in Applied Science degree at Durham Tech and then transfer to a four-year university to complete a Bachelor of Arts in Birth to Kindergarten Education.

How to decide between an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree and a transfer degree

Generally speaking, students who want to attend Durham Tech to learn a specific workplace skill and then start working after completing their two-year degree seek an AAS degree. Durham Tech offers many AAS or “career-ready” degree options. Students who know they want to transfer to a four-year university right after they complete their associate’s degree should choose a transfer degree. University Transfer programs are listed in the Programs and Pathways section and specify which Durham Tech degree(s) lead to your desired baccalaureate degree program.

The Careers section of the website, as well as Career Services, can help you learn more about the job responsibilities and expected rates of pay for specific professionals with different degrees and credentials. The College Foundation of North Carolina provides free career assessments to help you identify potential careers. Your ACA 122 instructor can also help you research career opportunities and develop a plan to achieve your goals.

How to decide between the Associate in Arts (AA) and Associate in Science (AS) programs

The AA is a two-year degree designed for students who want to pursue a four-year degree in the humanities, social sciences, or business. The AS degree is designed for students who want to pursue a four-year degree in areas of study such as mathematics, science, or professional programs that require strong math and science backgrounds. Durham Tech’s Course Selection Guides can help students determine which program of study is the most efficient pathway to completing the associate’s degree and meeting requirements for the major.

When to select the Associate in Fine Arts (AFA)

The AFA is a great choice for students interested in studio art. It allows students to complete some studio arts classes at the community college before transferring. Not every university offers a Bachelor in Fine Arts or a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts, so students should select a university that offers such degrees. The Art and Design University Transfer web page indicates which UNC Schools accept the AFA.

When to select the Associate in Engineering (AE)

The AE degree is designed for students who plan to be engineers and transfer to one of the five UNC engineering schools: East Carolina University, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina State University, UNC-Charlotte, and Western Carolina University. Learn more on the Engineering University Transfer web page.

When to choose the Associate in General Education (AGE)

The AGE is not a transfer degree. Although any transferable credits a student earns in an AGE program will transfer to a UNC System university, the student will not have the general education protections of the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement. This means that the student will have to meet all of the general education requirements at the four-year university after transferring.

AGE is a great option for people who only need an associate’s degree to advance in their profession, who wish to complete an associate’s degree for personal enrichment only, or who have a unique situation requiring specific courses that would be impossible to gain under another degree program.

Transfer Courses

What is a major?

A major is a field of study in which you specialize by taking 10 or more courses. The earlier you decide on a major, the more likely you are to select courses appropriate to your major. You must decide on a major by the time you are a junior. Taking the recommended core courses may help you find a major based on courses you enjoy. Many students know early in their studies which field they wish to study intensely. Others students need longer to decide. Both methods can lead to success.

Deciding on a major

College should be a place to discover new fields and to open doors to new possibilities. Taking a variety of courses can help you define your interests and talents. Also, your ACA-122 course will assist you in career exploration. In addition, Durham Tech Career Services, the Durham Tech Library Career Resources LibGuide, and the Careers section of the website can help you choose. However, it helps to make a decision on a major by the end of your first 30 hours so that you take courses that fulfill the requirements for that major. Taking classes without direction or changing your major can result in taking unnecessary classes, using up financial aid eligibility, and taking longer to graduate. 

Majors offered at universities

Listed on the following website are the active majors offered by the 16 public institutions of the University of North Carolina System.

It is also possible to find the list of majors by visiting the Transfer University links on the Transfer Center web pages and selecting the college of your choice. Then select the “Degree Program Requirements” link to view a list of majors at the selected university.

What courses should I take and how do Transfer Guides help?

Transfer Guides are created by the four-year universities and recommend major-specific coursework students should complete as part of their associate’s degree before transferring to  the four-year university.  Most of them also tell students what courses they will take once they transfer to the four-year university to complete the bachelor’s degree. You should print out and save your Transfer Guide for when you transfer.

Since students don’t always know where they will transfer, we have listed the recommendations from four Transfer Guides from our neighboring universities in our Course Selection Guide so students can compare requirements. 

Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) courses

UGETC courses are a select body of courses guaranteed to satisfy a lower division general education requirements at the N.C. public university or the participating private college to which you transfer. For this reason, it is suggested that you take mostly UGETC courses in your first semester at Durham Tech. It is best to select your UGETC courses with a major in mind, following the Transfer Guide, especially in regard to mathematics and science choices. Your UGETC course choices should be the suggested courses for your major and intended transfer university.

Credit Hours

Credit hours are based on the amount of time spent in class during one week of a 16-week semester. For example, a three-hour credit course meets for three hours per week for 16 weeks. The three hours per week are called contact hours. When you successfully complete the course, you are awarded three credits for the course. In most cases, credit hours equal contact hours. However, this is not always the case. For example, lab hours are counted differently. A lab typically meets for three hours per week, but you will be given only one credit hour for the lab. In addition, the length of a contact hour is only 50 minutes.

Mini-Session courses and summer courses meet for the same total number of hours as fall and spring semester courses, but those total hours are distributed differently. For example, a three-credit course meets for 48 hours total over a 16-week period. In a Mini-Session or summer course, those 48 hours are distributed over an eight-week period.

General education requirements at universities

Every university defines a set of introductory course work that gives the student broad exposure to many fields of study. These courses may include English, history, foreign language, science, mathematics, humanities, and social science. Students who complete an Associate in Arts (AA), Associate in Science (AS), Associate in Arts in Teacher Preparation (AATP), Associate in Science in Teacher Preparation (ASTP), or Associate in Engineering (AE) degree are guaranteed to have met the general education requirements at the receiving university.

Transferring to a North Carolina university prior to completion of the AA, AS, or AE degree means that each core course will be transferred individually and you will be required to complete the general education core of the receiving university.

All courses earned with a C or higher transfer for the Associate in Fine Arts (AFA) students, but the degree is not guaranteed to fulfill all general education requirements at the four-year university. The general education requirements of the AFA are Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) courses, so all choices should fulfill some part of the receiving university’s general education requirements. 

UGETC courses are guaranteed to fulfill some of those lower division requirements. So will many courses listed in the area of “Additional General Education Hours,” but there is no guarantee. Check with your university to be certain. Be careful when selecting your math and science courses to be certain that they not only fulfill lower division requirements but also the requirement for your desired major.

Can I use AP, IB, CLEP, and DSST tests to fulfill program requirements?

The IB/AP/CLEP/DANTES Credit (PDF) document provides guidelines used by the Admissions Office in determining credit awarded for International Baccalaureate Degree Programme (IB), Advanced Placement (AP) tests, College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests, and Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support (DANTES) Subject Standardized Tests (DSST). Students’ AP, IB, CLEP, and DSST course credit will transfer if they complete the Associate in Art, Science, Engineering, or Fine Arts degrees. If you transfer before completing the degree, then the university will apply its own criteria for awarding credit.

Applying to Four-Year Universities

When can I transfer?

You can transfer whenever an institution accepts you. For most universities, students may apply as transfer students when they have 24 transferable credit hours. There is abundant evidence that students who complete the degree at the community college are more successful than students who leave before completing the degree.

Does the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) mean I can automatically transfer to one of the 16 campuses within the UNC System?

No. You must still apply and be accepted. The admissions procedure is still quite competitive, and certain programs are more selective in their admissions than others. However, the Transfer Assured Admissions Policy does assure that Associate in Arts and in Science graduates who are covered by the CAA will be accepted to at least one of the 16 UNC institutions.

In addition, Durham Tech has five guaranteed admissions pathways to the following universities:

• Aggie Plus to NC A&T
• Pirate Promise to ECU
• C-STEP (Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program) to UNC Chapel Hill
• C3, Community College Collaboration to NC State
• University of North Carolina at Wilmington PathWays Program

The Transfer Assured Admissions Policy (TAAP)

The Transfer Assured Admissions Policy (TAAP) assures admission to one of the 16 UNC institutions with the following stipulations:

• Admission is not assured to a specific campus or specific program or major;
• Students must have graduated from a NC community college with an Associate in Arts or Associate in Science degree;
• Students must meet all requirements of the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA);
• 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;
• 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; and
• Students must apply to and meet all application requirements at the receiving institution including the submission of all required documentation by stated deadlines.

Assistance with the transfer application process

The Transfer Center offers application and essay writing workshops each semester and can provide advice in individual appointments. Request an appointment online.

Requesting transcripts

Order official Durham Tech transcripts and have them sent to another college. You can print out unofficial copies of your transcripts in Self-Service.

If I have an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) Degree, can I still transfer?

AAS plans of study contain some transferable courses, such as ACA 122, ENG 111, ENG 112, and social science and humanities electives that are transferable to a four-year university. The majority of the courses, however, are not guaranteed to transfer. Durham Tech does have some transfer agreements that make AAS transfer easier to specific university programs. You can find links to these schools and their agreements from the Transfer Center website under AAS Transfer Options.

Is there a limit to how many courses I can transfer to a university? 

Most universities do not award transfer credit in excess of 64 hours from community colleges. Course work in excess of the university’s limit may be used for placement. Two schools that accept more transfer credit are UNC Chapel Hill, which accepts 75 transfer credits, and NC State University, which accepts an unlimited number of transfer credits, although 25% of the degree must be completed at NC State. Check with your transfer university to be sure.

Applying for financial aid at a four-year university

Applying for financial aid at a four-year university begins with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. All students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA even if they do not believe they will quality for any financial aid. Some scholarships require FAFSA, even though they are not need-based, so it is always good to complete the form. Some colleges and universities, such as UNC-Chapel Hill, will require you to fill out an additional online application, the CSS Profile. These forms can be time-consuming to complete, and they may require your parents to input their financial information, so get started early.

Be aware of financial aid deadlines, which usually are close to application deadlines. If a university has a “priority deadline,” that means students who meet this deadline will have priority consideration for financial aid.

The Transfer Center also offers a workshop called Paying for the Four-Year Degree that provides an overview of the types of financial aid available to students when they transfer to a four-year university. Check the Transfer Center for dates and times. 

Scholarship information

The Transfer Center maintains a list of transfer scholarships. The Triangle Community Foundation is recommended as it administers many smaller local scholarships. The Center for the Global Learner maintains a list of Scholarships for All Immigration Statuses.

After You Transfer

What is Reverse Transfer?

Reverse Transfer is a program offered by UNC System that allows students who have a few remaining credits needed to complete their associate’s degree to take those classes at the four-year university and transfer them back to the two-year university to earn the associate’s degree.

What if a transfer university fails to honor the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) or other articulation agreements?

If, after reviewing the transfer credit you receive from your transfer university, you believe that the terms of the CAA have not been honored, reach out to the Transfer Center for help. The Transfer Center can help you understand your rights and responsibilities and work with the four-year university to resolve the issue. If informal procedures do not resolve the issue, students may follow the Transfer Credit Appeals Procedure via the Transfer Students and Credit Appeals Portal.

Resources for Transfer Success

The Transfer Center

The Transfer Center can help students with the transfer process. Advisors offer individual help with planning for transfer, applying, learning about scholarships, and applying to guaranteed admissions pathways such as C3, C-STEP, Aggie Plus, PathWays, and Pirate Promise. We also offer workshops on planning for transfer, writing strong application essays, and paying for the bachelor’s degree. The Transfer Center is located in Phillips (Building 3), room 3-126. Walk-ins are welcome or request an appointment online.

The Transfer Center's Transfer University Links connects to most of the colleges and universities that are of interest to Durham Tech students. By following the links, students can locate baccalaureate degree plans, find course equivalencies, access applications, and research majors and scholarship opportunities.

The Transfer Times

The Transfer Times is a monthly, student-oriented newsletter that provides transfer-related information. It includes transfer opportunities, transfer student accomplishments, scholarship announcements, transfer workshops, and extra-curricular activities related to transfer. Subscribe to the email list. 

College and Major Interest Form

Completing the College and Major Interest form enables us to send you information related to your major and intended transfer university. Choose which schools and majors interest you, and we will be better able to keep you informed about upcoming admissions counselor visits, events at the transfer institutions, and important information related to your intended major or program.