UNC Asheville Recognized in 2025 Carnegie Classifications for Academic Focus and Student Access

The University of North Carolina Asheville has been recognized in the 2025 Carnegie Classifications with two designations that align with the University's distinctive academic mission and its longstanding commitment to student access.

UNC Asheville has been classified as a Special Focus: Arts and Sciencesinstitution in the 2025 Institutional Classification. This designation reflects UNC Asheville's central mission as a public university focused on providing rigorous, interdisciplinary education in the arts and sciences. The classification includes just six percent of colleges and universities nationwide marking UNC Asheville as a leader in delivering focused, high-impact undergraduate education.

The University also earned a Higher Access, Medium Earningsdesignation in the new Student Access and Earnings Classification, highlighting the University's success in enrolling students from diverse backgrounds and preparing graduates for strong economic outcomes. This classification considers data on Pell Grant recipients and underrepresented students, along with post-attendance earnings benchmarked against local economic conditions.

Access Asheville, the University's financial aid initiative supporting low- and middle-income students by guaranteeing free tuition and fees to qualifying students, recently expanded. In addition to raising the income ceiling for eligibility from $80,000 to $90,000 annual gross income for the household, the program is now extended to students from Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia as well as North Carolina. Access Asheville made an exceptional, transformative education attainable to over 200 new students in its first year.

"These classifications affirm our identity as a university that offers transformative education rooted in the arts and sciences, while ensuring that opportunity is available to students from all walks of life," UNC Asheville Chancellor Kimberly van Noort said. "We are proud to be recognized for both our academic distinctiveness and our commitment to access and student success."

In February, UNC Asheville was formally recognized as a Research Colleges and Universities institutionby the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, by surpassing the threshold of $2.5 million in research and development expenditures, with a total of $6,761,000 in research expenditures in fiscal year 2023.

This classification is the highest attainable for institutions that do not offer doctoral degrees, affirming the University's leadership in undergraduate research. UNC Asheville's research classification places it in a select group of institutions in North Carolina and, despite its smaller size, is comparable to Western Carolina University and Appalachian State University in grant dollars.

The Carnegie Classifications, produced by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, are the leading framework for recognizing institutional diversity and impact in U.S. higher education.

To learn more about the 2025 Carnegie Classifications, visit https://carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu.