Think and Do: NC State’s Wolfpack Connect Shows Higher Ed at Its Best
Higher education should be a ladder, not a gatekeeper
North Carolina has long prided itself on a higher education system that is both expansive and democratic. The state’s 58 community colleges form one of the largest systems in the nation, serving more than half a million students each year.1 Since their founding, these colleges have embodied access: affordable tuition, open doors, and a promise to educate anyone willing to learn. They are, in many ways, the beating heart of higher education in North Carolina—especially for first-generation students, working parents, veterans, and rural graduates who might otherwise never set foot in a university classroom.
Community college is a great option for so many reasons. For students who aren’t ready to take on the debt or tuition costs of a four-year university, it offers an affordable first step. For others—first-generation students, those still finding their academic footing, or those balancing jobs and families—it provides a supportive environment where they can grow into confident learners. Community colleges also serve recent high school graduates who may need smaller classes, more one-on-one attention, or a chance to explore majors before committing to a university track. In short, they are flexible by design, meeting students where they are and helping them take the next step forward.
But here’s the hard truth: for too many of these students, the path forward stalls. Credits don’t transfer cleanly, admissions standards feel opaque, and the leap to a flagship university seems too wide.
That’s why NC State’s new initiative, Wolfpack Connect, matters.2
Wolfpack Connect doesn’t simply offer a new admissions option; it establishes a guaranteed bridge between the state’s most democratic institutions and one of its most prestigious research universities. By promising admission to NC State for students who earn an associate’s degree with a 3.0 GPA or higher, the program creates a transparent, merit-based lane for students who might otherwise be sidelined.
I taught an English class a couple of years ago that consisted solely of transfer students. Some of the brightest, most engaged students came by way of community college. They arrived prepared, focused, and hungry to learn—often balancing jobs, families, and other responsibilities. They knew why they were at college, and they didn’t take the opportunity for granted. Far from being “less than,” the community college transfer students often raised the bar for what it looked like to be present, committed, and intellectually curious in higher education.
This commitment is especially urgent now, in a moment when Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs across North Carolina and the nation are being dismantled or dramatically scaled back. The UNC System’s recent repeal of its DEI policy and the Supreme Court’s restrictions on affirmative action signal a climate where the scaffolding of equity is being pulled apart.3 Recent reports from the UNC System Board of Governors show ongoing efforts to eliminate programs and audit websites to demonstrate compliance.4
Programs like Wolfpack Connect step into that vacuum, embedding equity not in slogans or offices that can be defunded, but in the admissions infrastructure itself.
And NC State is not alone in this creativity. Last week, Wake Forest University announced it will offer free tuition for North Carolina students from families making less than $200,000 a year, with additional aid covering living expenses for families making under $100,000.
Together, these initiatives show that higher education in North Carolina is capable of being bold, creative, and innovative—even in the face of legislative agendas that would prefer to see opportunity narrowed.
Equity is not charity—it’s strategy. By investing in community college students, NC State is investing in the state’s own future: teachers who will return to local classrooms, engineers who will design North Carolina’s next bridges, nurses who will staff its hospitals, entrepreneurs who will seed its small towns. Wolfpack Connect honors the historic role of community colleges as gateways and ensures those gateways lead somewhere tangible.
At a moment when public trust in facts and experts feels fragile, universities have to show why they matter: not only as places of research, but as engines of opportunity. Wolfpack Connect embodies NC State’s motto—“Think and Do”—by pairing knowledge with action, ensuring ideas translate into real futures for North Carolinians.
Wolfpack Connect and Wake Forest’s new tuition pledge remind us of what higher education can be at its best: not a gatekeeper, but a ladder. And if lawmakers won’t build that ladder, North Carolina’s colleges and universities are showing they will.
https://www.ednc.org/who-decides-governing-the-north-carolina-community-college-system/
https://news.ncsu.edu/2025/09/nc-state-launches-guaranteed-admissions-program-for-select-north-carolina-community-colleges/
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/trustees-regents/2024/06/05/did-unc-system-destroy-dei-or-save-it-legislative
https://www.wral.com/news/education/unc-system-schools-equality-policy-reports-sept-2025/