Nearly 3,000 students are in degree programs across six universities, a 54% increase over fall 2025
CHAPEL HILL — This fall, Project Kitty Hawk, the University of North Carolina System’s nonprofit education technology affiliate, enrolled a record 2,889 adult learners in online degree programs across six universities, including 766 new students.
Total fall enrollment reflects a 54% increase over Fall 2025. Since the first degree program launched in October 2023, 4,385 students have started a Flight Path program. Twenty-five of these degree programs are now available at the six partner universities.
Project Kitty Hawk, created by the General Assembly in 2021, serves working adults who want to advance their education in a flexible, convenient way. The average age of a Flight Path student is 32, more than a decade older than the typical UNC System undergraduate. Seventy-five percent of Flight Path students work full time, and more than 80 percent are North Carolina residents. Flight Path students are more likely to live in economically distressed counties than the typical undergraduate in the UNC System.
Project Kitty Hawk’s original university partners—North Carolina Central University, East Carolina University, and Appalachian State University—each surpassed 850 Flight Path students this fall, with ECU being the first partner to exceed 1,000 students on the platform. NC Central’s 906 Flight Path students helped drive overall university enrollment to an all-time high of over 10,000 students three years ahead of schedule. Appalachian State and ECU outperformed new student projections by 40 percent, with App State’s Flight Path enrollment doubling in size since fall 2025. Thanks in part to continued growth in Flight Path programs, ECU posted its highest total enrollment since 2021.
Two new partners joined the Project Kitty Hawk portfolio this fall, with Winston-Salem State University launching three new programs and University of North Carolina Wilmington launching two new programs. Both universities exceeded enrollment projections in their first fall term.
Despite juggling multiple commitments, Flight Path students stay enrolled from one term to the next at a 90% rate, thanks in large part to Project Kitty Hawk’s investment in 1:1 success coaching. And in an era of increased skepticism about the value of higher education, Flight Path students are satisfied with their programs; a spring 2026 survey of students in Flight Path programs at NCCU, ECU, and App State posted a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 66—comparable to customer satisfaction ratings of popular brands like Amazon, Apple, Chick-fil-A, and the top adult-serving online universities.
In total, 249 students have completed a degree through a Flight Path program since inception.
Flight Path degree programs are helping partner universities grow and sustain enrollments in an increasingly competitive higher education market. By combining online education expertise with deep knowledge and experience in the UNC System, Project Kitty Hawk staff have helped university partners raise their profile among working adults searching for postsecondary opportunity, modernize admissions processes, build high-quality online courses, and support students from first inquiry to graduation.