The North Carolina High School to Community College Articulation Agreement is an agreement between the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and the North Carolina Community College System, which provides a seamless process that joins secondary and postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs of study.

This statewide articulation agreement is comprised of approximately 50 high school CTE courses that match the knowledge and skills taught in similar community college courses. The articulation agreement ensures that if a student is proficient in their high school course, the student can receive college credit for that course at any North Carolina community college. This agreement streamlines the student's educational pathway by eliminating the need to take multiple courses with the same learning outcomes.

Contact Dr. Bob Witchger at 919-807-7126 or witchgerb@nccommunitycolleges.edu

Articulated Courses

Process to Document and Award Credit

To receive articulated credit, students must enroll at the community college within two years of their high school graduation date and meet the following criteria:

•     Final grade of B or higher in the course and
•     A score of 93 or higher on the standardized CTE postassessment

High school students who enroll in a Career and College Promise pathway may earn articulated college credit as described in this agreement while enrolled in high school if the CTE articulated college credit is part of their Career and College Promise pathway.

Community college officials verify eligibility and acceptance of articulated courses listed on the high school transcript. Students may be asked to submit supporting documentation and/or demonstrate proficiency to receive credit. Colleges must follow the criteria of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges in awarding credit.

Field Tests

During times of curriculum revision, when field tests and revised curriculum guides are implemented, state-wide CTE postassessment scores are not available. In order to award articulated credit, LEAs should do the following.

1.     Scale the midterm and final field tests.
2.     Average the midterm and final field test scores to get the combined field test score.
3.     Follow the Process to Document and Award Articulated Credit.

Course Review Process

This articulation agreement builds on the 1999 and 2005 articulation agreements. This agreement recognizes the high school's conversion to teaching and assessing CTE courses using the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing.

This update to the articulation agreement began with recommendations from state-level curriculum consultants from both agencies. Then under the direction of the 58 community college chief academic officers, community colleges and the local education agencies (LEAs) in their service area participated in evaluating the possible course matches. These teams examined the course descriptions, secondary course blueprints, postsecondary course syllabi, secondary essential standards, and postsecondary student learning outcomes. Courses with a significant match were recommended for inclusion in this agreement.

Local Articulation Agreements

In addition to this statewide articulation agreement, local articulation agreements can be developed to build strong partnerships between high schools and individual community colleges. These local articulation agreements respond to new and emerging industries, provide for programs unique to the region, and add additional articulated courses and pathway alignments at the local level that are not included in the state agreement.

The following guide book describes the process for creating and maintaining a local articulation agreement.

• Developing a Local Articulation Agreement (PDF 1.3 MB) - A "How-To Guide" for establishing a local articulation agreement between the local school system and the community college.

A free self-paced course on developing a local articulation agreement can be accessed through the NC-NET Blackboard server. Find details at NC-NET.

History of the Articulation Agreement

History of the North Carolina High School to Community College Articulation Agreement