The Onslow Extension Site, operating since 1995, is holding an open house March 15. Students attending will be able to speak to an advisor, apply for admission and receive an admissions decision that day.

“I created the open house originally for last fall, where students could apply and get accepted the same day or if they weren’t ready to apply, they could come and speak with an advisor for each program offered in Onslow County to learn about the programs and the application process,” said Ashley Adamovage, Onslow program manager.

Last fall, a total of 80 students attended the event. Adamovage hopes the event will attract at least 100 students this March.

“When the extension site began in 1995,” said Adamovage, “it only offered the BA Elementary Education. Over the years, and as needs grew within the community, we have added degrees to meet those needs.”

Degrees offered at the Onslow site include a BA in criminology, elementary education, business administration, clinical research, nursing, a BSW in social work and pre licensure’s for education.

The site has a partnership with Coastal Carolina Community College. Students are encouraged to complete an AA or AS through Coastal and then transfer to the Onslow Extension Site through UNCW. A degree completed through CCCC will place the transfer student in junior standing.

“We do not offer any courses on site in competition with Coastal (we do not offer general education, 100-200 level courses, only degree required, specific 300-400 level courses),” said Adamovage. “Therefore it is a true partnership with Coastal handling the first two years of a four-year degree and UNCW handling the last two years.”

Because of the Onslow site’s location near Camp Lejeune, the program benefits both the Jacksonville community and the military base as well.

“This location allows the active duty students and their spouses to take traditional classroom based courses and in a location that ensures they do not miss time from work and can be close to their family if needed,” said Adamovage.

In addition to the offices at Coastal Carolina Community College, there are also offices and staff on base at Camp Lejeune and New River Air Station.

“The staff at all locations are there to offer the students assistance with the application process, financial aid (including the GI Bill and Tuition Assistance) and pre-admission academic advising. Academic advisors for all majors offered at the extension site have offices at our Coastal location,” said Adamovage.

The Onslow site was one of the first UNC institutions to waive the physical education requirement for active duty and veteran applicants based on recruit training. The site also treats military applicants as transfer students, allowing their military training and experience to count as transfer credit.

The military training and experience reported on military transcripts is evaluated by ACE (the American Council on Education) and equated to college credit at the vocational, lower division, upper division or graduate level.

“Any transfer student, civilian or military, will probably tell you the two biggest hurdles are transfer of credit and social integration,” said Adamovage. “We work very hard to address both issues for all transfer students.”

Information for transfer students can be found at www.uncw.edu/transferadmissions and for military dependents and military students at www.uncw.edu/military.

 “We strive for all students to get their degree from UNCW without leaving Onslow County,” said Adamovage.