Mar 18, 2024  
2022-2023 Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Catalog ARCHIVED PUBLICATION

Admissions



ECC operates under the Open Door Policy of the North Carolina Community College System. The institution’s services are available to anyone, whether a high school graduate or non-graduate, who is eighteen (18) years old or older and can profit from further formal education. The Open Door Policy does not mean that there are no restrictions on admission to specified programs. Please see the program descriptions for admissions policy and procedure. Students are encouraged to enroll in programs that serve their needs and objectives in life, consistent with their backgrounds, aptitudes, and expressed interests. The restrictions on admission are flexible enough to allow all students opportunities to improve their educational status. Opportunities are available for preparatory or remedial studies in the Adult Enrichment (Basic Skills) Center for students who lack specific academic skills necessary for admission to chosen programs.

The college offers occupational and adult education programs to all persons not enrolled in high school eighteen (18) years and older and who can profit from instruction. The college offers four different degree programs: the Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.), the Associate in Arts degree (A.A.), the Associate in General Education (A.G.E.), and the Associate in Science degree (A.S.). ECC offers the adult high school diploma, the high school equivalency test (GED), and preparation in the College and Career Readiness (formerly Basic Skills) Program.

Should students desire a course of study but not have the appropriate educational background, transition studies are available to prepare them for admission to the desired program.

Enrollment Process Step by Step

Persons wishing to enroll at the college should complete the entire enrollment process. This process consists of the following steps:

  1. Students should complete the NC Residency Determination Process at https://ncresidency.cfnc.org/residency/#/RESlogin.
  2. Students should submit an ECC admissions application to the College.
  3. Students seeking a degree, diploma, or certificate are responsible for having an official high school transcript or General Education Development (GED) transcript showing the date of graduation or completion submitted to the College. Home-schooled students must provide a copy of the Home-School’s approved registration from the state in which they registered. Students seeking a degree, diploma, or certificate who have college credits are responsible for having an official college transcript sent to the college. College credits will only be accepted and awarded from regionally accredited colleges or universities. Four-year college graduates who can provide official transcripts from the regionally accredited four-year college or university from which they graduated are not required to submit a high school transcript.
  4. Students should complete the placement tests when required.

The applicant will be placed into their program’s gateway math and English based on their unweighted high school GPA.

  • An applicant with a GPA of 2.8 or higher may register for any class without mandatory additional support.
  • An applicant with a GPA of 2.2-2.799 may enroll in a gateway course with a mandatory corequisite.

 NOTE: Co-requisites are not available for all courses.
 For courses without a co-requisite, the student will be enrolled in the corresponding pre-requisite for the course.

  • An applicant with a GPA less than 2.2 must enroll in a transition course.
  • If an applicant does not have a GPA, the RISE Placement test will be required or the applicant must qualify for a waiver.

If the applicant graduated from high school more than ten years ago:

  • The applicant will be required to take the RISE Placement test or the applicant must qualify for a waiver.

HOW TO QUALIFY FOR A RISE WAIVER

The RISE Placement Test requirement may be waived by the Dean of Enrollment and Financial Aid upon receipt of the official documentation if the applicant meets one of the following:

  • Has earned an associate degree or bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
  • Has satisfactorily completed one college-level English and math course at or above the developmental or vocational level at a regionally accredited college or university.
  • Has a GED with a score of 170 or higher on each section (2014 and later).
  • Has a HiSET score of 15 on each section and a 4 on the essay (2015 and later).
  • Has made the following minimum scores on the SAT or ACT:
  1. English: ACT Reading 20 OR ACT English 16 OR SAT Writing 500 (prior to March 2016) OR SAT Critical Reading 500 (prior to March 2016) OR SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 480 (beginning March 2016)
  2. Math: ACT Math 20 OR SAT Math 500 (prior to March 2016) OR Math 530 (beginning March 2016)
  • Has taken the ACCUPLACER, Asset, Compass, or North Carolina’s Diagnostic Test and Placement (NC DAP) test within the past ten years.
  1. Students have the opportunity to have a personal interview with a counselor in Student Services. Students have a chance to ask questions about the college and its programs, and counselors have an opportunity to evaluate students’ aptitudes and capabilities to pursue particular programs of study.
  2. All students must attend New Student Orientation, which is offered on both campuses at various times before each semester. Students have the opportunity to learn about the College, register for classes, and meet curriculum advisors.
  3. Students seeking financial assistance should apply for financial aid.

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Provisional Enrollment

Educational Services for Minors

Applicants who are minors between the ages of sixteen (16) and eighteen (18) years may be considered eligible for educational services and admitted to appropriate courses or programs, provided that they meet the following criteria:

  1. The minor applicant left the public schools no less than six calendar months before the last day of regular registration for the semester at the institution where the student seeks admission.
  2. The application of each minor should include a notarized petition of the minor’s parent, legal guardian, or other person or agency having legal custody and control of the minor applicant. The document certifies the place of residence and date of birth of the juvenile, the parental or other appropriate legal relationship of the petitioner to the minor applicant, and the day on which the applicant left the public school system. The superintendent of the public schools of the administrative unit in which the applicant resides may waive all or any part of the six-month waiting period.
  3. Such admission does not preempt institution facilities and staff to such an extent as to render the institution unable to admit all applicants who have graduated from high school or who are eighteen (18) years of age or older.

The State Board of Community Colleges and the Community College System encourage young people to complete high school before seeking admission to community colleges.

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High School Students

Career and College Promise Program

Qualified North Carolina juniors and seniors can begin their two or four-year college work tuition-free while they are in high school, which will allow them to get a head start on their workplace and college work. North Carolina is helping eligible high school students to begin earning college credit at a community college at NO cost (tuition only) to them or their families through a partnership of the Department of Public Instruction, N.C. Community College System, the University of North Carolina system, and many independent colleges and universities.

High School Eligibility Standards
College Transfer Pathway

College Transfer Pathway (CTP) students will have the option to qualify for the program with their unweighted high school GPA (2.8 or higher) OR assessment scores such as RISE placement scores, AP, IB, and Cambridge.

Career Technical Education Pathway

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pathway students will have the option to qualify for the program with their unweighted high school GPA (2.8 or higher) OR assessment scores. Students with an unweighted high school GPA of lower than 2.8 may qualify under special circumstances. Principals (or their designee) may still submit a waiver to allow a student entry into a CTE pathway. If a waiver is submitted, the principal (or their designee) will need to provide a rationale for why the GPA requirement was waived  

Cooperative Innovative High School Programs

Cooperative Innovative High School (CIHS) (i.e. early college/middle college/other CIHS program). Freshmen and Sophomores that meet special criteria (such as AIG designation and certain test scores) may be eligible to enroll in the Transfer pathway and select CTE pathways.

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Special Credit Students

Those eighteen (18) years of age or older who do not plan to earn a degree, diploma, or certificate but wish to enroll in a college credit course (not a continuing education class) are admitted as special credit students. Special credit students may register for courses if course prerequisites are met and if space exists in the classes. Regular students’ registration takes precedence over special credit students’ registration.

For enrollment at ECC, special credit students need only to complete an online admissions application; however, upon a later decision to pursue a degree, diploma, or certificate at the college, special credit students are required to submit proof of high school graduation, complete an ECC change of major form and provide proof of proficiency of any required prerequisite coursework. Special Credit students who are auditing courses must meet prerequisites. Special credit students are not eligible to receive financial aid or veterans’ benefits. Special credit students can take no more than twelve (12) semester hours of credit without declaring a major.

International Student Admission Policy

Edgecombe Community College does not accept international students.

Readmissions

Students who have not been actively enrolled in the last twelve (12) consecutive months must complete the enrollment process as stated in this catalog’s “Admissions” section.

Academic Forgiveness Policy

The Academic Forgiveness Policy applies to students who have failing grades at ECC at least five (5) years old and have not enrolled for two (2) consecutive years at the college.

Upon readmission, when students complete twelve (12) hours of academic work with a two-point-zero grade point average (2.0 GPA) or better, their previous grades of “F” receive forgiveness in the computation of the overall grade point average. ECC’s Academic Forgiveness Policy does not apply to financial aid eligibility.

Catalog of Record

The catalog that is current when students enroll in the college is the catalog of record. Students who are in continuous attendance may graduate under the provisions of the catalog of record in effect on their date of entry into their current curriculum major program of study, or they have the option of choosing the requirements of a subsequent catalog. A student who is readmitted or changes their curriculum major program of study must come under the provisions of the catalog in effect at the time of the change or a subsequent catalog.

Administrative Withdrawals, Suspension, Expulsions

Students who are suspended or expelled from the college may request clarification when they may re-enter at the time of withdrawal.

Students who have been administratively withdrawn from class may re-enroll the next semester. Students readmitted after an absence of at least twelve (12) consecutive months must meet the requirements of the catalog in use at the time they apply for readmission to the college.

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