ECU cements BSIT transfer pathway with Pitt Community College
GREENVILLE, N.C. (06/24/2025) – East Carolina University and Pitt Community College cemented a transfer partnership with a bilateral agreement signing ceremony last week in ECU’s Science and Technology Building.
The agreement provides PCC students who graduate with at least a 2.0 GPA and an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in any one of 14 technology programs guaranteed admission into ECU’s nationally recognized Bachelor of Science in industrial technology (BSIT) program.
The signing formally bonds the two in a partnership that benefits students and industry throughout eastern North Carolina.
“I’m thrilled to be signing this,” said Dr. Chris Buddo, provost and senior vice chancellor at ECU. “It’s a recognition of our shared vision for student success, and our partnership in creating workforce and economic development and bettering the lives of everyone in eastern North Carolina one student at a time. We’re really thrilled to have Pitt Community College as a partner in this.”
The BSIT program offers seven concentrations — architecture design technology; bioprocess manufacturing; distribution and logistics; industrial management; industrial engineering technology; information and cybersecurity technology; and mechanical design technology. Five of those concentrations can be completed online, meaning Pitt graduates who have already started their careers can complete courses at their own pace.
The program, which started in 2003, is part of ECU’s Department of Technology Systems in the College of Engineering and Technology. It recently received national accolades in The Transfer Playbook, produced by the Aspen Institute and Community College Research Center, for its success in helping community college transfer students obtain bachelor’s degrees at a rate 10 percentage points higher than the national average. The report credits advising staff, online classes and an emphasis on transfer student experiences as some of the reasons behind the program’s success, calling it a model for other four-year institutions to follow.
The agreement allows PCC graduates with AAS degrees to transfer up to 75 credit hours, leading to faster four-year degree completion. BSIT graduates can benefit from career advancement that can lead to higher pay and a better quality of life.
“To be here today, signing a number of agreements in collaboration between Pitt Community College and East Carolina University, is something that truly needs to be celebrated,” said Dr. Maria Pharr, president of Pitt Community College. “This isn’t the work of any one person. All of the faculty, all of the deans, all of the vice presidents, provosts and department chairs, we’re all a part of developing this, and we all should feel the pride.”
Pharr said technology programs produce graduates who are go-getters.
“We know the value of these programs,” she said. “These are the students who are making things happen. They’re making things work.”
Earlier this year, ECU signed similar BSIT transfer agreements with Blue Ridge Community College with campuses near Hendersonville and in Brevard, and Fayetteville Technical Community College with campuses in Fayetteville and Spring Lake.
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