UNC Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College today announced a new co-admission program to facilitate degree completion and student success by creating a seamless pathway for individuals who want to start their degree at Central Piedmont and complete their degree at UNC Charlotte.

This innovative co-admission program, called 49erNext, allows both Central Piedmont and UNC Charlotte to engage in a fully integrated proactive advising model, ensuring students’ progress toward the timely completion of a baccalaureate degree. As participants in the 49erNext program, students are eligible to transfer into more than 75 undergraduate degree programs (130+ majors) at UNC Charlotte, as long as they earn an associate degree at Central Piedmont with a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA.

“UNC Charlotte admits the most transfer students of all universities in the UNC System so this partnership with Central Piedmont will ensure that we are meeting students’ academic, financial aid, and career planning needs while making the transfer experience more seamless,” said UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “Nearly 60% of students in the inaugural 49erNext class are from underrepresented populations, and this program is designed to produce a greater number of workforce-ready, qualified graduates at a significant cost savings to them.”

In addition to proactive advising, students enrolled in the program will also have access to:

• a coordinated set of support services in critical areas like career planning and financial aid; 
• free student privileges on UNC Charlotte’s campus including admission to select Charlotte 49ers athletic events, library access, and admission to campus events;
• discounted CATS all-access light rail and bus pass;
• discounted access to UNC Charlotte recreational facilities.

For fall 2019, 111 students are enrolled in the 49erNext program. This past year, about 4,000 transfer students enrolled at UNC Charlotte—69 percent came from a North Carolina community college and 29 percent of those came from Central Piedmont Community College.

“Central Piedmont is excited about the 49erNext program because it offers students a direct pathway to a four-year degree as well as an avenue to greater economic mobility,” said Dr. Kandi Deitemeyer, Central Piedmont president. “Institutions the size of Central Piedmont and UNC Charlotte sometimes can be challenging to navigate for students. Those students in the 49erNext program will have a clearly marked map leading from one institution to the next. This program will serve the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community well as we seek to produce more individuals with bachelor’s degrees to meet our growing workforce demands.”

Both institutions have agreed to make collective institutional decisions and implement policies and processes that commit to:

• Put students first -- enable students to earn a quality degree in a timely manner;
• Foster success -- ensure and expect all students to achieve their full potential;
• Ensure equity -- ensure that all students, regardless of gender, race, income or family educational history, have equal opportunity.

Building on the partnership with Central Piedmont, UNC Charlotte hopes to expand 49erNext to other North Carolina community colleges.

Students interested in learning more about the 49erNext program should visit our web page or send us an email.