The agreement creates transfer pathways between the organizations, allowing graduates, faculty, and staff from participating community colleges to pursue online bachelor’s and graduate degrees through WGU and Franklin while remaining rooted in the places where they live and work. The effort reflects broader shifts happening throughout the education industry in Western North Carolina and across Appalachia, where institutions are increasingly focused on workforce alignment, flexibility, and removing barriers for nontraditional learners.

Dr. Kevin Boys, executive director of CCA, says the obstacles facing many rural students have less to do with ambition and more to do with circumstance.

“From my vantage point, the biggest barriers for Appalachian community college students are structural rather than motivational,” Boys said. “Many of our students are place-bound due to work, family, and transportation limitations, making traditional transfer pathways difficult to access. They simply don’t have the economic capacity to go off to a campus perhaps several hours away to pursue that advanced degree.”

For many students in the region, even relatively minor disruptions can derail educational plans.

“Economic precarity plays a major role,” Boys said. “A broken-down car, a sick relative, or an unexpected bill can often derail a student. Even small increases in cost or time to degree can halt progress.”

Those challenges are compounded when students lose credits during the transfer process or encounter unclear academic pathways.

“Students frequently encounter credit loss or unclear transfer pathways, which extends their timeline and adds expense,” Boys said. “These challenges disproportionately affect first-generation, working, and rural learners who make up much of our student population throughout Appalachia.”

The partnership is designed to reduce both cost and logistical hurdles by emphasizing transferability, online access, and competency-based learning models.

“The agreements we have with WGU and Franklin University meaningfully reduce both financial and logistical barriers that have long hindered bachelor’s completion in Appalachia,” Boys said. “WGU’s flat-rate, competency-based tuition model allows students to accelerate progress and lower total cost, while Franklin offers a generous tuition discount to our member colleges’ students and staff.”

Boys says the online format is particularly important for students whose careers, caregiving responsibilities, or financial realities make relocation impossible.

“Logistically, the fully online, asynchronous format at both institutions is transformative for place-bound students who cannot relocate or commute to a university,” Boys said. “Both institutions work hard to maximize credits that will transfer and be applicable to the sought degree.”

The initiative also reflects broader demographic and workforce shifts reshaping higher education throughout Appalachia. While dual-enrollment programs continue to grow among high school students, colleges are also seeing increased interest from learners pursuing technical credentials and workforce-driven programs.

“Of course, all of our colleges have seen tremendous growth in the number of dual-credit high school students, many of whom complete an entire associate degree while still in high school,” Boys said. “Among this demographic, many of our colleges are seeing increased participation in technical program pathways, not just the traditional arts and sciences transfer routes.”

At the same time, employers are becoming more deeply involved in shaping educational pipelines.

“We are also seeing growing interest in apprenticeships and other experiential learning opportunities developed in partnership with employers,” Boys said. “Local employers increasingly view the community college as a key collaborator in preparing new talent and upskilling their existing workforce.”

That alignment between education and industry is especially important in sectors experiencing labor shortages, including cybersecurity, healthcare, information technology, and advanced manufacturing.

“Partnerships like this directly strengthen the region’s workforce by creating clearer, more flexible pathways into high-demand fields—particularly those facing persistent talent shortages,” Boys said.

He points to a multi-college cybersecurity initiative supported by the Appalachian Regional Commission as an example of how educational institutions are building more layered and adaptable workforce pipelines.

“Together, they are building a regional ecosystem that allows students to enter the field at multiple points: a single introductory course, a short-term badge, an industry-recognized certificate, or a full associate degree in cybersecurity,” Boys said.

The partnerships are also helping rural colleges address staffing and faculty development challenges of their own.

“In many cases, existing IT staff on campus are eager to advance their own education, and these pathways allow them to upskill into teaching roles—strengthening both the local workforce and the college’s instructional capacity,” said Boys.

Although the initiative is still in its early stages, Boys says the long-term goal is straightforward: expanding opportunity without forcing people to leave the region.

“We are in our inaugural year, so we are looking forward to seeing more students pursue these opportunities,” Boys said. “At the end of the day, our goal is simple: to help students achieve their aspirations for good jobs without having to leave the communities they love. These partnerships give them new, realistic routes to do exactly that.”

Learn more at CCofApp.org.