On February 5, 2025, the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) launched Boost, an “accelerated college to career program” designed to move lower-income students into the “high-wage, in-demand careers” that will drive the state’s future prosperity. By providing “timely and relevant supports, dedicated advising for students, and incentives to accelerate their education,” Boost aims to improve lower-income student outcomes, as well as the N.C. economy. A joint effort between the City University of New York (CUNY), NCCCS, and North Carolina students, Boost will begin at eight N.C. community colleges and, by 2026, expand to 15. Previous implementations of the program in other states have met with great success, leading to high hopes for similar results in N.C.
As Forsyth Tech’s website makes clear, Boost is designed to support low-income students and strengthen North Carolina’s workforce by
• training and educat[ing] North Carolinians to succeed in the careers that are essential to our state’s economic development success, as specified in Propel NC workforce development goals;
• targeting fields like biotechnology, healthcare, engineering and advanced manufacturing and information technology;
• quickly mov[ing] students through college into high-wage, in-demand careers;
• advanc[ing] economic mobility and security for all North Carolinians.
For each enrolled student, the program provides access to childcare, a $600 stipend for textbooks, and $100 for regular meetings with advisors. With a lower student-to-advisor ratio than average (150:1), Boost allows advisors to dedicate sufficient time to each student, permitting them to more effectively assist enrollees in their endeavors.
Faster completion times typically mean lower dropout rates, lower tuition costs, and more time for students to earn a salary while contributing to the state’s economy.
Patrick Crane, vice president for strategic initiatives at NCCCS, explains the reasoning behind such measures, stating, “What we’ve seen in … other places is that when students receive these financial supports and these personnel direct services from their advisors and others, it helps them take more credits and therefore accelerate to completion.” Faster completion times typically mean lower dropout rates, lower tuition costs, and more time for students to earn a salary while contributing to the state’s economy—a win for everyone involved.
To be eligible for Boost, students must satisfy the following requirements:
1) North Carolina resident, eligible for in-state tuition;
2) Have a high school diploma or high school equivalency (not open to dual enrollment students);
3) Receive the Next NC Scholarship;
4) Be able to complete college-level math and English requirements within their first academic year;
5) Have no more than 24 college credits when they apply to Boost;
6) Be enrolled in an eligible program aligned to the state’s new funding model, Propel NC (Health Care, Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing, Trades and Transportation, Information Technology, and Public Safety and First Responders) OR be enrolled in an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Engineering program aligned to higher-wage careers in their region; and
7) Attempt at least 24 credits per year (summer, fall and spring).
By limiting access to Next NC recipients, Boost has set a household-income ceiling of $80,000. Furthermore, because students must be enrolled in an academic program leading to a “high-demand job,” the financial investments involved are more likely to have positive workforce-development consequences. As Crane remarked during the program announcement, Boost students are “going to be contributing to the state. So, we really see this as a partnership between students, colleges and the state.”
Boost is privately funded by philanthropic Arnold Ventures (via a grant of over $35 million, the largest of its kind received by NCCCS), meaning that government funding is not involved. Just as importantly, the program stands out as an appropriate post-DEI measure that focuses on economic need rather than race.
Boost stands out as an appropriate post-DEI measure that focuses on economic need rather than race.
As previously mentioned, only Next NC scholarship recipients are eligible for Boost. Because Next NC is a race-neutral financial-aid program, this requirement ensures that Boost will comply with federal and state prohibitions against race-conscious “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” measures.
Evidence for the program’s efficacy as a solution for negative student outcomes can be found by looking to its predecessor, CUNY’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP). Launched in 2007 as an experimental support program for low-income students, ASAP has since been nationally recognized for its “comprehensive support model and ability to mitigate barriers.” NCCCS president Dr. Jeff Cox has called ASAP “the gold standard for increasing completion in higher education.” Among enrolled students, the program has doubled graduation rates, increased wages, and lowered dropout rates.
Among enrolled students, the CUNY program has doubled graduation rates, increased wages, and lowered dropout rates.
Further, as CUNY chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodriguez explains, “Independent studies have repeatedly confirmed the efficacy of [ASAP’s] comprehensive support model as well as its cost-effectiveness and high return on … investment.” The program has also had a significant positive impact on student success in other states, such as West Virginia and Ohio, offering an 11-percent increase in post-graduation earnings, a 20-percent increase in second-semester full-time enrollment, and a 17-percent increase in bachelor’s-degree completion.
Boost is expected to bring about similar results in North Carolina, where it will be tailored to meet the state’s workforce-development goals laid out in Propel NC, targeting high-growth fields in particular. Cox says this will lead to “maximum benefit” for both students and the economy, as graduates will move into careers that “our policymakers have identified as most important to North Carolina’s economic success.” In order for these policymakers to evaluate Boost’s performance, NCCCS will monitor and regularly report the program’s results.
Upon Boost’s inception, Cox declared, “This is an exciting day for North Carolina businesses, companies looking to relocate to a state dedicated to world-class workforce development, and for the residents of North Carolina. We expect the North Carolina Community College System Boost program to make a significant, positive contribution to our state’s economic future.”
Boost has been live for only a month, and we have yet to see whether the program is performing as expected, with a substantial positive impact on the students and workforce of North Carolina. Yet, given past successes in a variety of other states, the outlook is promising. Indeed, if the program’s performance is consistent with expectations, policymakers may well “scale it statewide,” expanding it further than most states have done before and marking N.C. as a leader in post-DEI higher-education solutions.
Sophia Damian is a student at Wake Forest University and a 2024 Martin Center intern.
This article was originally published at jamesgmartin.center
