East Carolina University and Academic Common Market
The Graduate School at East Carolina University participates in the Academic Common Market (ACM), a program of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) that allows its 16 member states to share academic degree programs that are not commonly available. Member states of the SREB are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. Through this program, North Carolina residents may pay in-state tuition rates at a participating university in another SREB state while pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree program not available at one of the 16 University of North Carolina campuses. Qualified students from other SREB states may apply through their own state’s ACM Coordinator to pursue North Carolina graduate degree programs not available in their home state’s university system at the in-state tuition rate.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Residents of North Carolina
- If you are interested in a program not offered at a public university in North Carolina, it may be possible for you to pay in-state tuition at participating colleges and universities in member states of the Southern Regional Education Board.
- First, determine whether the degree program that you are seeking outside North Carolina is among those approved for participation in the Academic Common Market. Go to the SREB website at www.sreb.org for information on eligible programs.
- Once unconditionally accepted into the participating degree program, you must complete an application for residency verification and participation in the ACM. You must also provide appropriate documentation (including letter of acceptance, course requirements, and course descriptions, as required).
- After review and verification, the UNC-ACM State Coordinator transmits the application with a “certificate of residency” to the host state’s ACM Campus Coordinator and State Coordinator. The host state’s ACM Campus Coordinator determines whether the applicant meets all eligibility and institutional requirements for granting in-state status. The host state’s ACM Campus Coordinator sends a letter of acceptance or non-eligibility to the student once it has been reviewed, and copies are sent to the UNC-ACM State Coordinator and the host state’s ACM State Coordinator.
Residents of Other SREB States
- If the public institutions in your home state do not offer degree programs in your desired field of study and it is among the degree programs offered by the University of North Carolina Academic Common Market, it may be possible to arrange North Carolina in-state status for you to pursue the degree program. Out-of-state residents who participate in the UNC Academic Common Market pay in-state tuition and fees and are treated for all purposes of the University of North Carolina as residents of North Carolina while enrolled in the program.
- You must first determine whether the degree program that you are seeking at a University of North Carolina campus is among those approved for participation in the Academic Common Market. The UNC-ACM inventory can be searched to peruse available UNC degree programs at https://register.rti.org/acm/.
- If your chosen graduate program of study is not available on the current UNC-ACM inventory, you may submit a petition to add a program to the agreement between North Carolina and your home state. For further information on requesting a UNC program to be available to residents of your state, please contact your home state ACM State Coordinator for details and procedures.
- Once accepted unconditionally into a participating graduate degree program of the University of North Carolina, an application for participation in the ACM must be submitted to your home state ACM State Coordinator. A listing of ACM State Coordinators is available at www.sreb.org
- Once you have completed the ACM application materials and residency verification documents, your home state ACM State Coordinator will communicate to the UNC-ACM Campus Coordinator and the UNC-ACM State Coordinator your eligibility to participate in the program. The UNC-ACM Campus Coordinator determines whether you meet all eligibility and institutional requirements for granting in-state status.
WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION
Each participating SREB state has a coordinator for the Academic Common Market. Each state coordinator’s name and address can be obtained by visiting the SREB Web site at www.sreb.org or by calling the SREB in Atlanta at (404) 875-9211 or by email at acm@northcarolina.edu.
ACM Programs at East Carolina University
