Question

As part of the Transfer Assured Admission Policy, the State of North Carolina has determined the following:

a. If a student meets all requirements of the CAA, there is no guarantee that the student is accepted to any of the 16 UNC system schools.

b. If a student meets all requirements of the CAA, admission to any of the North Carolina 4 year institutions is guaranteed.

c. If a student has graduated from a community college, he or she is guaranteed acceptance at the UNC institution of his or her choice.

d. If a student meets all requirements of the CAA, admission is guaranteed to one university in the UNC system, though not necessarily to the school of the student's choice.

Answer 1

The CAA in North Carolina guarantees admission to at least one UNC system school for qualifying students, but not necessarily their school of choice. The UC system admits the top 12% of California high school students, indicating a high percentile threshold for eligibility. Race as a factor in admissions has historical significance, seen in the TTP policy at the University of Texas and past discriminatory practices in Southern states.

Step-by-step explanation:

Understanding Admissions Policies and Diversity in Higher Education

The concept of a Transfer Assured Admission Policy like the one in North Carolina helps community college students transition to four-year institutions within the UNC system. Students who meet all the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA) requirements are assured admission to at least one of the UNC system schools, though it may not be their first choice. This policy does not guarantee admission to a specific institution but ensures that students who fulfill the criteria have a path to a four-year degree within the state system.

Moving to the broader context of admissions in other states, the University of California (UC) system sets freshman admission standards by combining GPA and standardized test scores to calculate an admissions index score. This score helps them admit the top 12 percent of high school students in California, which represents students in the 88th percentile or above in academic achievement state-wide.

Race has been used as a factor in admissions decisions at universities, exemplified by the case of the University of Texas at Austin, which used a Top Ten Percent (TTP) policy to promote diversity in admissions. The policy was significant especially in Texas, where de facto racial segregation in school districts meant the TTP policy helped to create a more diverse student body at the university.

Historically, there has been a pattern of exclusion and attempts at redress in higher education access for Black students. Prior to the civil rights movement, some Southern states circumvented integration by offering tuition scholarships to Black students to study out-of-state, a practice which was later challenged and found to be discriminatory by the Supreme Court in the famous case Missouri ex rel. Gaines v Canada.