Students who plan to transfer to Appalachian can benefit from careful planning while attending a North Carolina Community College. While it may not be possible for every course taken at another institution to count as a required course at Appalachian, early planning can increase the chances that most courses taken will count towards degree requirements at Appalachian.

Please refer to the following information as a guide in determining the best course selection to meet your goals at a NC Community College while also preparing for your transfer to Appalachian. Please keep in mind that requirements and policies may change.

Admission to Appalachian

Visit Appalachian's Office of Admissions website for information about applying for admission to On-Campus program, or visit Appalachian's Distance Education website for information about applying to Off-Campus (site-based or online) programs.

Plan Your Transfer

Work with your community college adviser to determine the best way to plan for transferring to Appalachian. Students who complete the 44 hour General Education Core from a North Carolina Community College with a minimum grade of "C" in each course or who earn an AA or AS degree from a North Carolina Community College (from 1997 onward) will meet the General Education requirements at ASU (except for those courses that are required in the major, which include the junior "Writing in the Discipline" course and the senior "Capstone" course).

You can get a list of courses required for the NC Community College General Education Core at your school or online [PDF] at the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement website. The Associate of Arts (AA) Pre-Major program in Business Administration, Accounting, Economics, Finance and Marketing [PDF] is the NC Community College degree that will help you to complete the most courses that will count towards a business major at Appalachian.

Learn About General Education at Appalachian

If you will NOT be completing the NC Community College General Education Core or graduating from a NC Community College with an AA or AS granted 1997 or afterwards, you will be responsible for completing the General Education Program at Appalachian. Read about the General Education Program at Appalachian and review the Appalachian General Education checksheet [PDF] with the North Carolina Community College course equivalent numbers added (in parentheses).

Please carefully read the information about how courses are to be selected in the perspectives. If you are planning to pursue a business major at Appalachian, you should try to complete a theme in the "Historical and Social" Perspective that contains ECO 2030, so that you can count it in both the business major and in the General Education Program. If you are majoring in International Business or planning to pursue a foreign language minor at Appalachian, you should try to complete a theme in the Local to Global Perspective that contains a foreign language course numbered 1050 or 1060 (if the language you will be pursuing is represented in that theme).

Students who plan to transfer to one of Appalachian's distance education programs are advised to complete an AA or AS degree or the 44-hour CAA core at a North Carolina Community College to satisfy the General Education requirements before seeking transfer as the requirements for the General Education program at ASU can often not be met through community college or extension credits.

Admission to the Walker College of Business

Read about the requirements for admission to the Walker College of Business. Credit for some of the courses required for admission to the College of Business can be earned through Advanced Placement exams; minimum required scores can vary by institution. Appalachian's minimum AP scores must be met in order to receive credit for courses at ASU (even if course equivalents were met at former institutions). Please refer to Appalachian's AP Credit Policy for current required scores.

While students from North Carolina Community Colleges who transfer in under the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement will be exempt from the General Education Program at Appalachian, they, must still meet all major requirements, including courses that are also a part of the General Education Program. For example, students who waive the General Education Program at Appalachian but who do not have credit for ENG 1000 on their transcript evaluations must take ENG 1000 and make a minimum grade of "C" to be admitted to the College of Business).

If you are completing the AA in Business Administration at a North Carolina Community College, we recommend that you take BUS 115 as your elective. The earliest a transfer student can be admitted to the College of Business is after the first semester because he/she must establish a GPA of 2.5 based on a minimum of 12 graded hours at ASU prior to admission.

Basic Computer Proficiency Test

Determine whether or not you will need to take the Basic Computer Proficiency Test (required for admission to the COB). If you get credit at Appalachian for CIS 2025 by transferring in CIS 110 from a North Carolina Community College, you do not have to take the test. If you do need to take the test, you should register online for the first available test date after you are admitted to Appalachian (or the first one you are able to attend after admission to Appalachian). This test must be taken on campus. It is important to take this test by the end of your first term at Appalachian. Online registration is available during designated times at through the Department of Computer Information Systems.

GPA Requirements

Understand GPA requirements at Appalachian.

• Grades do not transfer to Appalachian - only credits transfer to Appalachian (beginning Fall 2010, only courses with a minimum grade of "C" will transfer to Appalachian).
• Students must establish a GPA at Appalachian of 2.5 based on twelve hours graded A-F to be admitted to the COB (so no transfer student is admitted to the COB upon entry to Appalachian).
• Students must have a 2.5 at the time all other admission requirements will be met.
• Students must earn a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the 18 hours in the lower level business core: ACC 2100, ACC 2110, ECO 2030, ECO 2040, ECO 2100, LAW 2150 (NCCC equivalents are ACC 120, ACC 121, ECO 251, ECO 252, BUS 228 or MAT 151 or MAT 155, BUS 115).
• Minimum grade requirements in specific courses (i.e. ENG 1000) must be met wherever the course is taken. 

Residency Requirements

Understand that residency policies at Appalachian require that 60 hours of course work be taken at a four-year insitution and that 50 percent of the business course work, nine hours of the minor course work and the last 30 hours be earned at Appalachian.

Tuition Surcharge

Read about the tuition surchage policy, which can cause students who have more attempted hours than needed to meet degree requirements to pay 50% more tuition for those hours in excess of 140. Careful planning at the community college can help you to avoid this surcharge.