North Carolina community college students interested in transferring to a University of North Carolina system school can now use a new online data tool called Transfer Guides to help them with the process.

The Transfer Guides tool helps advisors and community college students match their credits to four-year degree requirements in specific majors at 16 UNC System institutions, according to a recent press release.

This tool has been in the works for more than two years and includes almost 1,400 Transfer Guides. The new tool is said to provide community college advisors and students with “vital information regarding admissions, course equivalencies, and academic programs.”

The transfer guides come at a time when there’s a national spotlight on transfer outcomes. 

A study released in February 2024 highlights national transfer outcome data and examines how community colleges and four-year institutions provide opportunities for students to transfer and earn a bachelor’s degree. The study also includes a dashboard with state-by-state analysis of the data. 

The data show that while nearly 80% of community college students aspire to earn a bachelor’s degree, only 16% of community college students (first time in college) transfer and complete a bachelor’s degree within six years of entering a community college.

Overall, one third of community college students transfer to a four-year institution, and of those who successfully transfer, 48% earn a bachelor’s degree within six years of starting at community college.

While transfer rates and outcomes have been tracked for years, this analysis is the first to disaggregate the data by student subgroup. The research found that “low-income (11%), older (6%), Black (9%), and Hispanic (13%) students transfer and complete bachelor’s degrees at even lower rates than students overall.” Older students are defined as students ages 25 and up.

“Community college students now have a clearer pathway to a bachelor’s degree, and our academic advisors now have better resources to support students as they pursue their academic and career goals,” said North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) president Dr. Jeff Cox in a press release.

Peter Hans, president of the University of North Carolina System, said, “We need to make it easy for talented, ambitious students to continue their education. College courses should be challenging; college transfer should be simple.”

You can find the transfer guides on university websites and the College for North Carolina (CFNC) website. CFNC’s website allows students to compare transfer possibilities by major and campus.