NC S519

Establishes a minimum 3.0 high school grade point average (GPA) on a seven-point scale for freshman admission to UNC system institutions, effective fall 2018 semester, with an exception allowing up to 3% of first-time applicants to be admitted as "special talent" students with lower GPAs.

Creates the North Carolina Graduation Rate Acceleration Double Enrollment (NCGRADE) program allowing students with 2.5-2.99 high school GPA to be admitted to participating UNC institutions if they simultaneously enroll at a designated partner community college and must earn an associate degree within three years.

Establishes the NCGRADE Grant Fund providing $1,000 per semester to eligible NCGRADE students enrolled full-time (minimum 15 credit hours) at UNC institutions, with grants limited to four semesters and renewable only upon demonstrating satisfactory academic progress and maintaining course load requirements.

Requires UNC constituent institutions with more than 5% of first-time freshmen enrolled with GPAs below 3.0 (based on 2013-2014 to 2015-2016 data) to participate in NCGRADE and partner with four community colleges to prepare students for success.

Appropriates $1.2 million to UNC Board of Governors and State Board of Community Colleges for 2017-2018 implementation, $3.86 million for NCGRADE grants in 2018-2019, and $18 million total to UNC Board of Governors for program support in fiscal years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019.