Arts & Sciences
College Transfer Programs
These programs of study are designed to prepare students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities. They are also excellent general studies degrees for students who want to complete an associate degree and begin jobs and careers in various fields.
Each degree program includes a core curriculum of basic courses in English composition, humanities and fine arts, social and behavioral sciences, and natural sciences and mathematics, as well as both elective courses which prepare a student for transfer to a particular four-year university and/or program of study.
Full-time students, who normally take five or six courses each semester (at least 16 credit hours), can graduate in four semesters, or two years.
The Associate in Arts (AA), Associate in Engineering (AE), and Associate in Science (AS) degree programs allow students to transfer to four-year colleges and universities. Students are able to complete the coursework equivalent of the first two years of four-year bachelor’s degree programs and upon graduation often transfer to four year institutions with junior status. These degrees are recognized and accepted by colleges and universities as the standard college transfer degrees.
Associate in Arts Degree
When students complete the AA degree, they are prepared to transfer and begin work on Bachelor’s degrees in the liberal arts and/or pre-professional fields such as education, law, and business.
Associate in Engineering Degree
The AE degree plan includes required general education and prerequisite courses that are acceptable to all state funded Bachelor of Engineering programs. Students who follow the degree progression plan will meet the entrance requirements at all of the North Carolina public Bachelor of Science Engineering programs. Associate in Engineering graduates may then apply to any of these programs without taking additional and sometimes duplicative courses. Admission to Engineering programs is highly competitive and admission is not guaranteed.
Associate in Science Degree
The AS degree prepares students to pursue bachelor’s degrees in scientific, health care, and technological fields such as biology, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science, and/or pre-professional fields such as medicine, public health, and engineering.
Structure of the AA, AE, & AS Programs Both degree programs require students to complete 60-61 credit hours of coursework, including 45 credit hours of Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) and General Education courses, 15 credit hours of additional elective courses, and a 1 credit hour orientation/ study skills course.
Transfer of Courses in the AA, AE, & AS Programs
When all grade requirements are satisfied, UGETC courses are guaranteed to transfer to universities within the UNC-system as course-equivalents, whereas other general education and elective courses are guaranteed to transfer, but the individual accepting institution makes a determination as to whether the course transfers as a course- equivalent or as general elective credit towards graduation from a Bachelor’s degree program.
Making Plans to Transfer
Brunswick Community College assists students in making plans to transfer to four- year colleges or universities. However, each student is responsible for contacting the schools to which one may apply for admission and should obtain information in writing about transfer admission procedures and requirements.
Students should plan their BCC programs in consultation with both their BCC advisors and the admissions counselors at senior institutions. This will help assure that students take the courses they need for admission to the senior institutions and to the various bachelor’s degree majors and pre-professional programs. Students are advised to begin the application process two semesters before they intend to transfer.
Transferring to UNC-System Universities
Transferring to one of the 16 universities of The University of North Carolina (UNC) system has been simplified under the 2014 Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) between the UNC-system and the NC Community College System (NCCCS). The CAA addresses the transfer of credits and the admission of NCCCS graduates to the UNC- system.
Transfer of AA and AS Degrees
BCC graduates of the AA and AS programs will normally receive 60-61 hours of academic credit upon admission to a UNC-system university and have junior status if they have received a grade of “C” or better in all their college transfer coursework and have complied with the receiving institution’s advising guidance, and a GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. Under special circumstances, a university may accept additional credit hours.
Graduates of the AA and AS programs are required to meet any additional requirements of the receiving institution before or after admission to the institution.
Transfer of Individual Courses
A minimum grade of “C” or better is required for all courses to be acceptable as transfer credit. A minimum GPA of 2.00 or better is required in the program of study for the degree to be acceptable as a transferrable degree.
Transfer Assured Admissions Policy
The transfer assured admissions policy of the 2014 Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) and Independent Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (ICAA) guarantees admission to a UNC institution for students who have graduated from a community college with an AA, AE, or AS degree. Students must meet all the requirements of the CAA. They must have a grade of “C” or better in all transfer courses with an overall GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale from the college they graduated from and be eligible for readmission.
Students must also meet the judicial and application requirements of the institution they apply to and submit all required documents on time. Under this policy, admission is not guaranteed to a particular UNC institution nor does it constitute admission to a professional school or a specific program within the university.
Detailed transfer information is available at http://www.northcarolina.edu/?q=nc- community-college-transfer/comprehensive- articulation-agreement-CAA.
1997 Comprehensive Articulation Agreement Approved by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of the NC Community College systems March 1, 1996. Revised January 1997, June
1999, November 1999, October 2002, April
2003, September 2004, November 2004,
December 2004, May 2005, February 2007,
September 2007, February 2008, June 2008,
September 2008, and June 2010.
2014 Comprehensive Articulation Agreement Approved by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of the NC Community College Systems February 2014.
2015 Independent Comprehensive Articulation Agreement Approved by the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of the NC Community College Systems May 2015.
Bilateral Articulation Agreements
The transfer assured admission policy, while guaranteeing that a student who has met the criteria will be accepted at a UNC institution, does not assure admission to the university of their choice. Therefore, Brunswick Community College has established individual agreements with particular institutions regarding admission of students, including but not limited to Campbell University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Regis University.
College Transfer Program Courses Which Meet Graduation Requirements
An alphabetical list of course descriptions is provided in the BCC Catalog and Student Handbook. Approved College Transfer courses are identified in course descriptions with a closing statement describing the use of the course and the way it will transfer to a UNC-system institution:
This is a Universal General Education Transfer Component (UGETC) course in (subject area) for the (degree type).
This course has been approved for transfer under the CAA and ICAA as a general education course in (subject area) for the (degree type).
Only courses with these statements have been approved for transfer to the 16 universities of The University of North Carolina system. Courses which do not have these statements are not approved for use in the Associate in Arts, Associate in Engineering, or Associate in Science curricula. Certain courses are only approved for use in the Associate in Science or Associate in Engineering curriculum (or vice versa); this will be noted in the CAA statement following these courses. Brunswick Community College offers a selection from among these courses each semester.
Students should select courses based on college transfer plans, expected baccalaureate majors, career goals, and special interests. Students should meet with their advisors every semester to update their degree programs and to ensure they are taking appropriate courses. The course selection and scheduling process is driven by the need to help students, whose requirements and personal schedules vary widely, get the courses they must have to make progress toward completing their degree programs. All classes are subject to minimum enrollment requirements and availability of instructors.
Courses which are regularly scheduled for the Fall and Spring Semesters
The AA, AE, and AS degree programs are flexible. Students can generally begin the college transfer program in fall, spring, or summer semesters/session and can choose from a variety of courses that meet degree requirements. Courses in the highest demand, such as ENG 111 (Writing & Inquiry), MAT 143 (Quantitative Literacy), and MAT 171 (Precalculus Algebra), are offered every semester, as are selections of courses from traditional general education areas: humanities/fine arts, social/behavioral sciences, and natural sciences/mathematics.
However, certain courses are normally offered only one semester each year and may be part of a two or three course sequence. For instance, PHY 251 (General Physics I) is offered in the Fall semester and PHY 252 (General Physics II) is offered in the Spring semester. Thus, students need to plan ahead.
