By Kelly Doty
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — UNC Asheville has suspended certain graduation requirements related to diversity-intensive courses following a memo from the UNC System Office regarding new federal contracting requirements.
In a letter to students and staff on Thursday, Feb. 6, Chancellor Kimberly van Noort, Ph.D., said the memo suspends all general education requirements that mandate completion of course credits related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“I want to reassure students, particularly those graduating in May, that the university’s top priority is ensuring that this change does not impede graduation or academic progress,” van Noort said. The memo from UNC System Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel Andrew Tripp cited the Jan. 21 executive order signed by President Donald Trump titled Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity. The order requires entities, like higher education institutions, that wish to contract with a federal agency to “not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws.”
Tripp’s memo explained that University of North Carolina institutions received about $1.4 billion in federal research dollars in 2023-24, accounting for about 62% of all university research funds and approximately 13% of the university’s annual budget.
Citing the risk of losing critical federal research funding, Tripp’s memo called for “all general education requirements and major-specific requirements mandating completion of course credits related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, or any other topic identified in Section VII of the Equality Policy” to be suspended.
In response to the memo, van Noort said the university’s existing curricular requirements related to diversity-intensive courses would be converted into general elective requirements.
“Any student currently enrolled in a Spring 2025 course to satisfy a requirement related to diversity-intensive courses may elect either to remain enrolled in the course or withdraw from the course without penalty,” the letter to students stated.
However, students will still need to meet the 120-credit-hour requirement to graduate.
Van Noort’s letter noted that the UNC System’s memo did not affect faculty members’ ability to teach or research topics or students’ ability to pursue coursework.
“I want to ensure everyone in our community that we remain steadfastly committed to fostering a culture of belonging, access, and student success,” van Noort said in the letter.
A statement by Brian Hart, the director of communication at UNC Asheville, further addressed student concerns about the change:
We are ensuring students know that while the diversity intensive graduation requirement is suspended, all classes with the diversity intensive designation will continue, and students will still receive general education credit for those classes. Students who are currently in a diversity intensive class or classes, including seniors who plan to graduate in May or August, may continue in that class or classes and remain on track for graduation. Students may also elect to withdraw from any class following the University’s hardship withdrawal policy. A hardship withdrawal does not count towards a student’s withdrawal hours limit and will not impact their GPA.
We are supporting those students who may be affected by this and who need assistance understanding their options and the processes related to the option they choose.”
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