Alamance Community College Among First to Launch NCBoost Student Support Program

In fall 2025, 147 students joined Boost at Alamance Community College, with 13 more enrolling in spring 2026. The results so far are striking: 90% of Boost students were retained in the program from the fall 2025 to the spring 2026 semester.

In February 2025, the North Carolina Community College System launched NC Community Colleges Boost, a program designed to accelerate student advancement through college and place students into high-wage, in-demand careers. Alamance was among the first eight colleges in the state to take it on. The program covers the full cost of participation: tuition may run as low as $0, textbooks are fully covered, and the package also addresses childcare, supplies, and other college costs. Every participant is paired with a dedicated advisor, and the supports and incentives never have to be repaid.

Long before Boost was announced, leaders at Alamance Community College were already changing the college's approach to advising based on the best practices of the CUNY ASAP program, such as hiring full-time staff to work as dedicated advisers rather than relying on faculty. When the opportunity to apply to be part of Boost became available, it felt like "a perfect fit for us," said Dr. Ken Ingle, president of Alamance Community College.

Matthew Eckhoff, who serves as Boost director at Alamance, learned quickly that the college's outreach strategy needed to evolve. When Boost first launched, recruitment efforts focused on email campaigns and attending open houses, but while those efforts built awareness, they did not move the needle on recruitment. Instead, the Boost team found that picking up the phone and calling eligible students was more effective in getting them to enroll. "Once we did get them on the phone, I would say 95-99% of students were interested," said Eckhoff.

The program targets fields directly tied to North Carolina's labor market: biotechnology, healthcare, engineering and advanced manufacturing, and information technology. Eligible students must be North Carolina residents who qualify for in-state tuition, hold a high school diploma or equivalency, and be eligible for the Next NC Scholarship, a Pell Grant, or G.I. Bill benefits. Dual enrollment students do not qualify.

Arnold Ventures is funding the statewide launch with a grant of more than $35.6 million, the largest private grant ever received by the North Carolina Community College System. "Arnold Ventures is excited to support NC Community Colleges Boost, and we have the utmost confidence in North Carolina's ability to successfully implement this evidence-based program," said Kirby Smith, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Programs at Arnold Ventures. "By aligning the program's goals with the workforce development goals identified by the PropelNC initiative, state leaders are ensuring that students will not only improve their economic security, but will contribute to a thriving North Carolina economy."

The program's architecture draws directly from a proven national model. "The City University of New York's Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (CUNY ASAP) model is the gold standard for increasing completion in higher education," said NCCCS president Dr. Jeff Cox. "In the NC Community Colleges Boost implementation, we have taken that model and aligned it with North Carolina's workforce development goals as specified in the PropelNC initiative. This is how we will ensure the maximum benefit for our students and our state. Participants will quickly move through college into the careers that our policymakers have identified as most important to North Carolina's economic success."

Independent research has found the ASAP model nearly doubled three-year graduation rates: 40.1% of students who went through the ASAP program earned a degree compared to only 21.8% of students who did not.

Looking ahead to fall 2026, Alamance will bring on a second Boost adviser to serve a new cohort of 150 students, bringing the program's total to 300 students. Students interested in applying or learning more can contact Director Matthew Eckhoff at mceckhoff131@alamancecc.edu or Advisor Lena Angelichio-Miller at lnangelichio-mill085@alamancecc.edu.