As the nation celebrates Veterans Day, North Carolina is strengthening its support for those who serve through three new laws that make a University of North Carolina System education more affordable and accessible for military families.
This fall, the University of North Carolina System’s 16 universities welcomed 18,719 transfer students, an 8.2% increase since fall 2024, and the highest number on record. Of those, 10,840 students transferred from community colleges to UNC System institutions.
This fall, North Carolina’s public universities enrolled more than 23,000 military-affiliated students, a 6% increase since fall 2024. It’s the fourth consecutive year the UNC System has seen enrollment increase among this group, which includes veterans, active-duty military and students from military families.
The UNC System achieved record enrollment this fall, with the total number of students up 3.4% over 2024. For the first time, North Carolina’s public universities surpassed a quarter of a million students.
In the coming academic year, the University of North Carolina System will work to support mental health for K-12 students, with plans to train up to 420 future teachers and principals in Youth Mental Health First Aid.
More than 1 million people in North Carolina attended college but left before earning a degree or credential. The UNC System is working to welcome many of those people back to the classroom — and help them graduate – — by expanding its partnership with ReUp Education.
Since 2016, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors has voted to keep tuition rates flat for resident undergraduates at all 16 of its universities. The University of North Carolina System, subject to a constitutional mandate to provide affordable, high-quality higher education for all North Carolinians, is committed to helping more students graduate on time, and with less debt.
A college history, math, or science course should be challenging for students. But transferring to a public university should be easy. That’s why the University of North Carolina System has enacted rules to make those transfers easier for undergraduates.
Months after Hurricane Helene disrupted the academic year for thousands of students and their families, spring enrollment is up at the UNC System’s three mountain universities.
In response to the hardships caused by Hurricane Helene, the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority is awarding additional financial aid to eligible students at Appalachian State University, University of North Carolina Asheville and Western Carolina University, and to eligible students from impacted counties at the other UNC institutions.