Dean’s List: UNC, NC State, other NC colleges delaying enrollment deadlines. Here’s why.
Students admitted to UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State University and a handful of other public universities across the state will have more time this spring to decide where they want to attend college.
Several UNC System schools announced Friday that they would move their enrollment deadlines — sometimes referred to as “decision day,” or the date by which students have to officially select which university they’ll attend — as a result of this admissions cycle’s much-delayed financial aid notification process.
While students are typically notified of their financial aid offers from colleges around the time that they receive their admissions notifications, the process was significantly delayed this year due to changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or the FAFSA.
So, which North Carolina colleges are delaying their enrollment deadlines to accommodate for the delays? And when is the new deadline?
Welcome to Dean’s List, a weekly roundup of higher education news in the Triangle and across North Carolina from The News & Observer and myself, Korie Dean.
This week’s edition includes more information about how the FAFSA delays are impacting enrollment deadlines, a new scholarship at NC State and a new dean at UNC Wilmington.
Some UNC System schools move enrollment deadlines
At least seven UNC System universities have announced that they will allow students until May 15 to declare their enrollment:
UNC-Chapel Hill
N.C. State University
N.C. A&T State University
Fayetteville State University
Appalachian State University
UNC Greensboro
UNC Wilmington
The new deadline, moved from the typical May 1 decision day, gives students an additional two weeks to consider their financial aid offers at the schools. The universities emphasized they want prospective students to make fully informed decisions about where they would like to enroll.
“We understand the unprecedented challenges students and families are facing during this year’s college decision-making process,” said Erin Slater, director of undergraduate admissions at UNCG. “It is essential that we allow adequate time for admitted students to evaluate their options and make informed decisions about their college journey.
“Extending the commitment deadline to May 15 allows us to accommodate the challenges brought about by delays in the financial aid process.”
The new version of the FAFSA, which debuted this academic year, is intended to be easier to fill out and provide more students with financial aid. But the process has been riddled with delays from the start, with the form opening three months late and the U.S. Department of Education estimating that colleges would receive students’ information about four months late.
Financial aid and admissions staff at UNC and NC State told The N&O in February that the delays mean that students won’t receive their financial aid offers until sometime in April.
The new enrollment deadlines are campus-level decisions and do not apply to the entire UNC System, Jane Stancill, system Vice President for Communications, told The N&O Friday. But system President Peter Hans last month encouraged all campus chancellors to be flexible and provide communication and guidance to students throughout the admissions and financial aid processes.
“I understand this rollout has created additional stress and challenges for the members of your team who work tirelessly on behalf of our over 240,000 students,” Hans wrote in a Feb. 19 letter to system chancellors. “I am confident, however, that your leadership can make a significant difference in ensuring our students can continue their education without undue financial stress.”
If you or your student is still waiting for a financial aid offer, there are ways to estimate the amount of aid you’ll get and receive other support in the meantime, including online Net Price Calculators that students and their families can use to estimate how much they’ll be expected to pay to attend that particular school. You can search for those calculators for any school at collegecost.ed.gov/net-price.
Rhett & Link fund NC State scholarship
YouTubers Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal — better known as simply Rhett & Link — are giving back to their alma mater in a big way.
Before they launched their wildly successful YouTube careers in 2006, the North Carolina natives attended N.C. State, and both studied engineering. Now, a scholarship at the university’s College of Engineering will bear their name.
The Rhett & Link Engineering Innovation Scholarship Fund will be available to third- and fourth-year engineering students “who demonstrate commitment to innovation and creativity in engineering, sciences, the arts, entertainment or the intersection of these disciplines.” The full-ride, two-year scholarship will be awarded to one student.
N.C. State announced the scholarship last week as part of its annual Day of Giving, the annual, 24-hour event to raise money for the university.
“The Rhett & Link Engineering Innovation Scholarship Fund will provide one student with the financial support to fearlessly pursue their own mythicality,” an announcement from the university said, giving a nod to the duo’s popular “Good Mythical Morning” YouTube show and their company, Mythical.
Forbes ranked Rhett & Link as the fourth-highest paid YouTubers in 2022, estimating that they raked in $30 million through their various brands and channels that year.
UNC Wilmington names new College of Education dean
Tracy Linderholm will be the next dean of the Watson College of Education at UNC Wilmington, the university announced Friday.
Linderholm, who has worked in higher education since 2000, is currently associate dean of the College of Education at Georgia Southern University. She was previously an associate professor and director in the School of Human Development and Organizational Studies at the University of Florida.
Linderholm’s appointment comes nearly a year after previous Dean Van Dempsey was removed from the role at Watson after he spoke to The Assembly about controversial details surrounding state Sen. Michael Lee, a New Hanover County Republican, being awarded the college’s Razor Walker Award.
After a months-long dispute with the university, Dempsey last fall settled with UNCW over the demotion — claiming it was retaliation for speaking to the press — and agreed to return to the Watson faculty beginning this August, Port City Daily reported.
Linderholm will begin her new role on June 24.
“I am honored to have been selected as incoming dean of the Watson College of Education,” Linderholm said in a university news release. “Watson College has a long tradition of providing high-quality, innovative programming that promotes student success. I look forward to continuing that tradition by forging new collaborations with school, community and campus partners.”
Higher ed news I’m reading
Student journalists at the Daily Tar Heel, the NC State Technician and seven other college newsrooms last week launched the Mental Health Collaborative, a project that explores issues related to mental health at all nine campuses. Spend some time with their work, which includes more than 30 reported stories.
Arizona lawmakers, through a Republican-led bill, could limit faculty power in academic, governance and personnel decisions, Inside Higher Ed reports.
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That’s all for this week’s roundup of North Carolina higher education news. I hope you’ll stay tuned for more.
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