page

We're searching for our next President. Help shape the future of NC's community colleges. Learn More → 

Students

College Faculty & Staff

Businesses

About Us

Dashboards

News

Events

nextword/hero

Adult Education programs across North Carolina empower individuals to enhance their skills, pursue higher education, and advance their careers. Through collaboration with community colleges and community-based organizations, Adult Education provides resources, professional development, and innovative strategies to improve educational outcomes. The goal is to create universal learning opportunities for all adult learners, ensuring access to high-quality instruction, workforce readiness, and personal growth.
<h2>Connection to WIOA</h2>
The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) activities are designed to ensure that all out of school youth and adult students build the foundational academic skills necessary for college and/or work. In addition, as a component of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), AEFLA supports the advancement of individuals into postsecondary education, further education and training, and employment.
State leadership activities funds can be used for adult education and literacy activities including the integration of high-quality literacy instruction within demand occupational skill training and for promoting linkages with employers and with postsecondary education institutions. Additionally, permissible activities, includes the “development and implementation of technology applications, translation technology, or distance education, including professional development to support the use of instructional technology.”
The <a style="color: #0645ad;text-decoration: underline" href="https://www.commerce.nc.gov/about-us/boards-commissions/ncworks-commission" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NCWorks Commission</a> is the state's official Workforce Development Board, responsible for recommending policies and strategies to align North Carolina's workforce and businesses with the global economy. Designated under the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), it oversees the statewide NCWorks Career Center system and <a style="color: #0645ad;text-decoration: underline" href="https://www.commerce.nc.gov/jobs-training/workforce-professionals-tools-resources/workforce-innovation-and-opportunity-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WIOA State Plan</a>.

nextword/wysiwyg

<h2>2025-2029 WIOA Title II AEFLA Providers</h2>
Alamance Community College
Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College
Beaufort County Community College
Bladen Community College
Blue Ridge Community College
Brunswick Community College
Burke County Literacy
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute
Cape Fear Community College
Carteret Community College
Catawba Valley Community College
Central Carolina Community College
Central Piedmont Community College
Cleveland Community College
Coastal Carolina Community College
College of The Albemarle
Craven Community College
Craven Literacy Council
Davidson-Davie Community College
Durham Literacy Center
Durham xx College
Edgecombe Community College
Fayetteville Technical Community College
Forsyth Technical Community College
Gaston College
Guilford Technical Community College
Halifax Community College
Haywood Community College
Isothermal Community College
James Sprunt Community College
Johnston Community College
Lenoir Community College
Literacy Together
Martin Community College
Mayland Community College
McDowell Technical Community College
Mitchell Community College
Montgomery Community College
Moore County Literacy
Nash Community College
Pamlico Community College
Piedmont Community College
Pitt Community College
Randolph Community College
Reading Connections, Inc.
Richmond Community College
Roanoke Chowan Community College
Robeson Community College
Rockingham Community College
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
Sampson Community College
Sandhills Community College
South Piedmont Community College
Southeastern Community College
Southwestern Community College
Stanly Community College
Surry Community College
Tri-County Community College
Vance-Granville Community College
Wake Technical Community College
Wayne Community College
Western Piedmont Community College
Wilkes Community College
Wilson Community College
YMCA Literacy Initiative

Transition to Success provides students with the foundational skills and the growth mindset needed to achieve their college and career goals through an engaging, supportive, and contextualized curriculum aligned to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) standards.
<div data-id="2141427" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="text-editor.default">
The objectives of Transition to Success:
1. Master foundational academic skills.
2. Prepare for successful completion of HSE assessments.
3. Connect the learning to job skills required for high demand careers.
Develop a “CAN DO” attitude (Growth Mindset is critical to student success).
4. Transition to Curriculum or Continuing Education with no delay for Developmental Education
</div>

The North Carolina Community College System College and Career Readiness Adult Education Standards were originally developed, refined, and field tested by adult educators from across the state during 2007 to 2010. With the introduction of the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education by the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) in April 2013, the NCCCS College and Career Readiness Adult Education Standards were aligned to reflect these new standards.
<a style="color: #0645ad;text-decoration: underline" href="https://wordpress.nccommunitycolleges.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/adult-education-content-standards-levels-1-4.pdf">Adult Education Content Standards Levels 1-4</a>
<a style="color: #0645ad;text-decoration: underline" href="https://wordpress.nccommunitycolleges.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/adult-education-content-standards-level-5.pdf">Adult Education Content Standards Level 5</a>

Adult Secondary Education (ASE) is a free program of instruction (9.0 grade level and above or the equivalent) designed to prepare adults for further education or transition toward skill obtainment and employment. Adult Secondary Education includes the Adult High School (AHS) Diploma program and the High School Equivalency (HSE) Diploma program.
<a style="color: #0645ad;text-decoration: underline" href="https://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/college-faculty-staff/federal-programs/finishing-hs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adult Secondary Education webpage</a>

Basic Skills Plus is a tuition waiver program designed to serve Basic Skills students while they are concurrently enrolled in courses providing employability skills, job-specific skills, occupational skills, technical skills, or developmental education instruction.
<h2>Student Eligibility</h2>
1. Students who are Participants in a College and Career Readiness program
2. Students who are pursuing a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent
3. Students who have achieved the adult secondary level in at least one subject, or are in the Adult High School program
<h2>Concurrent Enrollment</h2>
Students must attend Basic Skills and eligible training courses concurrently at the same college and the same semester.
<h2>Eligible Training</h2>
1. Continuing Education courses identified as leading to an industry recognized credential.
2. Curriculum Courses within an occupational or technical credential program of study for an approved curriculum certificate as listed in the college’s catalog.
<h2>Fees and Tuition</h2>
<h3>Continuing Education</h3>
Basic Skills Plus Waivers should not exceed 12 credit hours for curriculum courses or a single qualifying Continuing Education (CE) course. A qualifying CE course is one that aligns with an industry or state recognized credential (page 12 of <a style="color: #0645ad;text-decoration: underline" href="https://www.nccommunitycolleges.edu/about-us/numbered-memos/cc24-021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CC24-021 Tuition and Registration Fee Waiver Guide</a>).
<h3>Curriculum Courses</h3>
Colleges may waive tuition for up to 12 credit hours.

Career Pathways are present through all areas of community colleges. Students can enter or exit a pathway at any time, beginning at the point most appropriate for them based on their educational background and continuing as far as they’d like to go. According to the federal definition used across all departments in North Carolina’s community colleges, a career pathway is, “a combination of rigorous and high-quality education, training and other services that:
1. Aligns with the skill needs of industries in the economy of the State or regional economy involved.
2. Prepares an individual to be successful in any of a full range of secondary or postsecondary education options, including apprenticeships.
3. Includes counseling to support an individual in achieving the individual’s education and career goals.
4. Includes, as appropriate, education offered concurrently and in the same context as workforce preparation activities and training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster.
5. Organizes education, training and other services to meet the particular needs of an individual in a manner that accelerates the educational and career advancement of the individual to the extent practicable.
6. Enables an individual to obtain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and at least 1 recognized postsecondary credential.
7. Helps an individual enter or advance within a specific occupation or occupational cluster.
In North Carolina, there are six identified Career Clusters. A career pathway typically follows a student through a Career Cluster, earning stackable credentials, certificates, degrees and diplomas.
Students may be enrolled in several departments at a community college as they travel a career pathway, including College and Career Promise (CCP) through their high school, College and Career Readiness, Continuing Education and Workforce Training, Curriculum and more. Cross departmental collaboration is an integral part of a successful career pathway for our students.

Adult Education services are provided in North Carolina prison facilities as well as some jails and community correctional environments so students can pursue their high school equivalency credential and also earn postsecondary credentials that will help them succeed when re-entering the workforce after release. Research shows that education is the biggest factor in reducing recidivism!
In program year 2023-2024, 7% of the WIOA Title II students served in North Carolina were in a correctional institution, jail, or community correctional program. This group of students outperformed Adult Education students as a whole, earning a measurable skills gain rate of over 62%.
North Carolina Community Colleges award federal WIOA Title II Section 225 funds specifically for the service of students in correctional environments. Grantees develop and implement accelerated integrated education and training programs and provide students advising and connection to re-entry services.

NCCCS partnered with the NC Department of IT and 20 community colleges serving Tier 1 and 2 counties to create a Spanish and English version of a Digital Navigator Certificate, and recruit adults from communities most impacted by the digital divide to serve as digital navigators.
The Digital Navigators Program is a statewide initiative to bridge the digital divide and provide free, personalized assistance to help North Carolinians access high-speed internet, obtain affordable devices, and build essential digital skills for everyday life, employment, and education.

North Carolina’s adult immigrant population creates a substantial demand for English as a Second Language (ESL) services. The state’s foreign-born population stands at around 900,000 individuals, with immigrants coming from diverse regions, including Latin America (50%), Asia (28%), and Europe (12%). This diverse group mainly originated from Mexico, India, Honduras, China, and El Salvador.
Before entering North Carolina’s ELL programs, students exhibit a wide range of educational backgrounds. While 28% have attained a post-secondary degree and 24% have completed a secondary school diploma, a significant portion, about 35%, has limited formal education, with some having completed only elementary or middle school and 3% having no schooling at all. This diversity in educational attainment underscores the need for tailored instruction within the ELL programs to effectively meet these students’ varied learning needs.
Fifty-three percent of participants in ESL programs are employed, demonstrating the importance of these services in helping immigrants improve their job prospects and fully integrate into the labor force. Tailored ESL programs in North Carolina play a critical role in helping these adults enhance their English proficiency, thus increasing their ability to contribute to and thrive in the state’s economy.
Please note that our services are not available to individuals on F or J visas. These visa categories are typically associated with students and exchange visitors who are not eligible for the programs we offer.

The Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) programs in North Carolina play a crucial role in helping adult immigrants acquire the necessary language and practical skills for effective integration into American society. Supported by Section 243 of WIOA, these programs go beyond traditional ESL instruction by integrating civics education and workforce training through Integrated Education and Training (IET) activities.
IETs enable participants to simultaneously improve their English proficiency while gaining vocational skills that align with local labor market demands, preparing them for meaningful employment and active civic engagement.
Title II WIOA Section 243 funds in North Carolina are allocated by the North Carolina Community College System using a formula established by the State Board of Community Colleges (SBCC) in July 2019.

For many students in an Adult Education program, the first point on their career pathway is an Integrated Education and Training (IET) program. An IET is “a service approach that provides adult education and literacy activities concurrently and contextually with workforce preparation activities and workforce training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster for the purpose of educational and career advancement.” IETs have a single set of learning objectives (SSLO) shared by the different activities, so students should experience the IET as a cohesive program.
IETs accelerate student progress and also provide opportunities for CCR programs. Programs can document Measurable Skills Gains (MSG) for students earning industry recognized credentials while concurrently enrolled in adult education. 
<h2>Workplace Literacy</h2>
Workplace literacy falls under the IET umbrella because it offers the opportunity to earn MSG 4. Workplace literacy programs are offered in collaboration with an employer and must take place at a workplace or offsite location. Together with the employer, the Title II provider sets goals for the participants with milestones along the way for which MSG 4 may be earned. As a result of the instruction, employees must be eligible for a pay raise or promotion. An IET template must be submitted and approved in order to capture MSG 4 for a workplace literacy program.

Adult Education

Connection to WIOA

CCR Adult Education Links

Students

Faculty & Staff

Businesses

About Us