NCCU guarantees acceptance for Durham Tech transfers in newly expanded partnership

Mary Helen Moore
·2 min read
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North Carolina Central University will guarantee acceptance for students who graduate Durham Tech with an associate’s degree.

Selnatta Vereen says now that she’s enrolled at Durham Technical Community College, her twin 27-year-olds have flipped the script.

“My son calls me every other night and says, ‘Have you done your homework?’” she said with a laugh. “And then he says, ‘I didn’t send you to that school to cut up.’”

Vereen is part of the first group of Durham Tech students who will be guaranteed admission to N.C. Central University under a newly expanded partnership for eligible transfers known as Eagle Connect.

“This is good not just for NCCU and Durham Tech. It’s good for the state of North Carolina,” said Johnson O. Akinleye, chancellor of NCCU, during a news conference Tuesday.

Akinleye met with Durham Tech president J.B. Buxton to sign a new memorandum expanding the program, which extends beyond guaranteed admission.

Students also have access to:

  • Early advising

  • Scholarship transfers;

  • Waived application fees

  • Access to the NCCU library and Career Center while at Durham Tech

  • Tickers to campus events at student guest prices.

About 60 students a year transfer to NCCU from Durham Tech.

“It used to be as high as about 90, and we’d love to see it exceed that again, post-COVID,” said Leah Bingham, assistant dean for university transfers at Durham Tech.

“I think it will grow every year,” she continued. “Anybody who wants to do it can do it.”

Part of the Eagle community

Vereen, a Durham native, plans to study business administration, specializing in HR management. She said advisers helped her feel like a part of the N.C. Central community as she completes her graduate degree nearby and she can’t wait to cross the stage as an Eagle.

Bingham said the vision is to create cohorts that know each other and transfer together.

“They’ve got friends already sort of built-in. They know the support networks that they can reach out to here, because they were connected with them before they came,” she said.

The community college also expanded its partnership with Durham Public Schools this year. They want 500 DPS students — 1 in 4 — to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree or a workforce credential by 2029.