North Carolina Central University is recruiting thousands of former students for a new degree program in Behavioral and Social Sciences.
The new program will be offered to students online and face-to-face. Dean Debra Parker says it’s part of the “End Zone” program, encouraging former students to return to school and graduate with a degree that has eluded them for years. "End "Zone" symbolizes the NCCU spring graduation ceremony that takes place on the school's football field.
“We have a list of 50,000 students from North Carolina Central University who have 'stopped out' as far back as 1980. So we have academic advisors and grad students who are contacting people," Parker said.
Associate Dean Robert Wortham says the degree is set-up to meet students where they are.
“These are students that are already out there. They are in the workplace. For some reason or another, they did not finish. They do want to come back, they do want to finish. We have really good response from those we have already talked to. They are excited about it because it’s like a second chance," Wortham said.
Approximately 1.5 million students across the UNC system dropped out before graduating. Wortham says their new “End Zone” initiative and degree program will not just focus on former NCCU students.
The UNC Board of Governors approved the Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral and Social Sciences on October 29, 2015. The first students could graduate as early as next December.
