UNC System Equity Fellows Program

Sponsored by the John M. Belk Endowment, the UNC System Equity Fellows Program aims to enhance the ability of UNC institutions to deliver high-quality, high-touch first and second year advising to underrepresented students that will drive improvement in retention and completion rates. This program would capitalize on the exceptional work and talent of the College Advising Corps (CAC) by recruiting corps members that have finished their commitment to CAC to serve as first- and second-year student success coaches at UNC System institutions.

Role Expectations

Equity Fellows will both support students and hold them accountable for making progress toward their goals. Fellows will work with their cohort to provide high quality, high touch coaching and advising services from the start of their students’ career to help them succeed in their first year of college, persist from freshman to sophomore year, and make progress toward choosing a major and finishing on-time. Fellows will meet in-person with students three to five times each semester and will have additional contact with the students through a combination of texts, phone calls, emails, and drop-in office hours.

Compensation & Benefits

Fellows will receive a two-year $15,000 stipend and a graduate assistantship, with full tuition and fee remission, in a graduate degree program at NC State University, UNC Charlotte, North Carolina A&T State University, or UNC-Chapel Hill.

Fellows will receive training from their home institution on advising processes and systems and will also participate in System-level coaching professional development with fellows from other institutions. System-level professional development will focus on the fundamentals of coaching and how to engage with students in initial and ongoing meetings.

Eligibility Requirements

Download a summary of position details and expectations

  • Be an accepted graduate student at NC State University, UNC Charlotte, NC A&T, or UNC-Chapel Hill and begin in Fall 2024 (at the time of application)
  • Currently serving or have served as a NC College Advising Corps Adviser
  • Be a North Carolina Resident as classified by the N.C. Residency Determination Service (RDS) (prior to receiving an offer)

Frequently Asked Questions

View Frequently Asked Questions about the program and application process.

Contact

Contact Shun Robertson, Vice President for Access and Strategy, at srobertson@northcarolina.edu, or Patti Harris, Director of GEAR UP North Carolina, at pbharris@northcarolina.edu