For more than 50 years, UNC Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) have partnered to meet workforce needs of the region.
The Passport Program is one of the latest ways. The academic transfer program bridges gaps that might occur between CPCC’s two-year workforce development academic programs and its urban research partner, UNC Charlotte.
As the largest transfer institution in North Carolina, UNC Charlotte enrolls more than 3,000 transfer students every year. CPCC often represents the largest number of those transfers. For the 2011-12 school year, 538 of 3,414 transfers came from CPCC, representing nearly 16 percent of the University’s transfers.
UNC Charlotte has worked closely with CPCC’s Transfer Resource Center to assist students through the process, developing “2+2 programs” designed for students to complete two years at CPCC and then move directly to UNC Charlotte to finish up their final two years.
The Passport Program was borne out of those 2+2 programs, but it has been tailored to seek out and focus on a select group of CPCC students who weren’t accepted at UNC Charlotte but who aspire to transition. The students attend CPCC for one year and take 24 hours of transferable credit and then transfer to UNC Charlotte. The program admitted its first students in fall 2010.
“The thing that’s specific about this program and that makes it so successful is that we’re really trying to prepare them for that transfer process,” said Barbara Seyter, associate director of admissions at UNC Charlotte. “Not necessarily just getting the credits and getting here, but actually making them a more prepared transfer student.”
Ohavia Phillips, a CPCC student currently enrolled in the Passport Program, has felt the benefit. As the first person in her family to attend college and the oldest of five children, Phillips entered higher education with high expectations but little knowledge of how to navigate through her new environment.
“I’ve been able to link up with other Passport students and also link up with other 49ers, so I feel very prepared, and I’m ready to transition over,” she said.