C-STEP

What is C-STEP?

The Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program (C-STEP) is a partnership between Cape Fear Community College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill made possible by a grant from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation . The goal of C-STEP is to identify high-achieving students (minimum 3.2 GPA) who would not otherwise attend a selective college or university; to enroll these students in the Associate in Arts/Science program at one of the partnering community colleges; to mentor these students through successful completion of an Associate degree (AA/AS); to transfer these students, as juniors, to UNC-Chapel Hill; and to support their successful completion of a baccalaureate degree.

Entry into the program is competitive and is based on both community involvement and academic excellence. Statistics show that transfer students from North Carolina Community Colleges perform better, on average as juniors than those who enter the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as freshmen.

C-STEP is not a scholarship program nor is it part of the general process routinely followed by students applying to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as college freshmen or traditional community college students applying to UNC-CH as College-University transfer students. Rather, C-STEP identifies talented students as early as high school and facilitates their eventual admission and transfer to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as juniors, if they earn an appropriate associate’s degree at Cape Fear Community College and complete C-STEP and UNC-CH participation and admissions requirements. While using funds from Federal Student Financial Aid to pay for tuition and books at the community college, C-STEP students are provided exemplary advising, mentoring, and support during their transition and subsequent enrollment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

This collaborative effort will ensure that Cape Fear Community College C-STEP students feel “firmly planted” at Carolina almost immediately after transferring there. These students will be academically prepared and fully engaged in the campus community — and both are strong indicators of student success.

Program Benefits

Students benefit from an opportunity to prepare academically and engage with the Carolina campus community throughout the program, in addition to:

• Special Events
• Advising
• Transition & Support Services

Application Deadlines

Key Dates	Application Deadline	Notification Date
Graduating high school seniors – OR – High school seniors with 30 dual enrollment credit or less – OR – Current Cape Fear CC students with 30 credit hours or less including current semester course work	April 1	Late April
Current Cape Fear CC students with 30 credit hours or less including current semester course work	October 1	Late November