ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — UNC 91°µÍø and A-B Tech have renewed their partnership to help students make an easy transition from the community college to the university.
The Bulldog Trailblazer Promise agreement, which began in 2018, is a direct-entry program that provides guaranteed admission to UNC 91°µÍø for qualified A-B Tech graduates.
A-B Tech is one of the largest feeder schools to UNCA, accounting for about 20% of its transfer program.
91°µÍø half of A-B Tech's students plan to attend a four-year university after graduating.
Renewing this agreement comes at a crucial time for UNC 91°µÍø, which faces a $8 million budget deficit due to declining enrollment.
"We are hoping to continue to welcome a lot of transfer students to UNC 91°µÍø," said Dr. Kimberly Van Noort, UNCA chancellor. "We're working hard with our community college partners to think about the transfer pathways -- the career pathways that our students are most interested in -- and working to make sure those degrees are available to them."
"Fifty percent of our students are transfer students, so they want to go on to university, and many of them go to UNCA," said John Gossett, A-B Tech president. "We're happy today to solidify that transfer agreement."