UNC announced two initiatives to help veterans navigate the sometimes complicated path into higher education.

Jim Gregory is the Director of Media Relations at UNC, but he is also a veteran of the US military and says announcements like the one made on Wednesday make him very proud.

“When you’re in the military, you’re thinking of ‘What’s the mission? What do I need to be doing to make sure that I’m doing my job?’ but stepping outside of that can be scary,” Gregory says. “This provides two concrete initiatives to help active-duty navigate this higher education process.”

The two initiatives are the hiring of a Student Veteran Assistance Coordinator at Carolina and the launch of a new program – UNC Core.

“That program is really a [UNC] system-wide initiative, but it’s led by [UNC] Chapel Hill. And it’s designed to accelerate higher-education opportunities for active-duty military in North Carolina,” Gregory says. “It involves self-paced and summer-based courses that take advantage of what’s already available out there.

“But it packages it in a way that helps them satisfy their general education requirements.”

Gregory says this is viewed as the first step for veterans who are not able to come to class on campus to complete a four-year degree online.

He adds the newly created position will provide a singular point of contact for veterans who are taking courses.

“That is a position that will report to the Dean of Students. It’ll be filled this summer. They’re looking at candidates now,” Gregory says. “That person will work with others within the dean’s office, around the university, state, [and] local organizations to help veterans navigate the higher education process.

“It’s not always easy to know what’s out there [and] what’s available. And I can speak as a veteran myself, it’s a complex environment.”

The goal of the initiatives is to streamline the communication and accessibility for veterans to migrate into higher education.

The UNC Core program is open to all military members and will be housed in the Friday Center for Continuing Education. More information on that program is available here.

These initiatives are in addition to programs already in place for veterans at UNC including online MBA programs, physician assistant degrees, and the Warrior Scholarship Project.

Related Stories
‹
UNC's THRIVE Program Using New Home to Help More Veterans
The Matthew Gfeller Center at UNC is known for its leading research on head trauma and injuries for athletes. But the center is now building up a new program to help out a piece of our population: veterans. The THRIVE Program, or Transforming Health and Resilience in Veterans, recently moved to its own, […]
UNC Will Provide Outreach Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries
UNC will establish a new accessible treatment program for military veterans with traumatic brain injuries, thanks to a $12.5 million gift.
UNC Opens Veterans Resource Center
UNC opened the Carolina Veterans Resource Center, or CVRC, last week to serve and support their nearly 500 students affiliated with the military. The facility will house a study space, a lounge, conference and meeting space and a lactation room. UNC Chancellor Carol Folt credited the students for being instrumental with the development of the […]
UNC Officials Discuss Surgical Towers and Campus Development
Plans for new surgical towers at UNC Hospitals were presented by university representatives to the Chapel Hill Town Council during a business meeting held earlier in the week. The presentation was made by Anna Wu, the associate vice chancellor for facilities services, who noted that the proposed location of the towers has been modified. “The […]
UNC Hoping New Orientation Will Help Veterans Transition from Military to College Student
A new program for veterans at UNC, called “Boot Print to Heel Print,” follows a series of other steps the university has taken to support military personnel. This latest program seeks to ease the veteran’s transition to college life, something that Amber Mathwig experienced first hand. “I made mistakes and I made it hard on […]
UNC Men's Basketball at Kentucky (2025): How to Watch, Cord-Cutting Options and Tip-Off Time
Carolina will travel to the Bluegrass State to face Kentucky in Rupp Arena Tuesday night as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge. It will be the first time the Tar Heels have visited Lexington since the 2014-15 season. If you aren’t making the trip with the team, here’s how you can follow along at home: Broadcast […]
UNC Football's Season Ends with Blowout Loss at NC State
The UNC defense had no answer for NC State in the first half Saturday night, as the Wolfpack scored on all four of their first-half possessions on their way to a 42-19 win in Raleigh. It’s NC State’s fifth consecutive win in the series, which is tied for its longest in program history. “It was […]
UNC Women's Basketball Dispatches Columbia to Complete Cancun Sweep
Sophomore guard Lanie Grant scored 19 points and UNC pulled away in the second half to earn an 80-63 win against Columbia in the third and final game of the Cancun Challenge in Mexico Saturday. The win finished off a three-game, three-win sweep of the Challenge for the Tar Heels. Three days, Three 𝙒𝙄𝙉𝙎.@WellsFargo x […]
UNC Women's Basketball Wins Again in Cancun, Beats Kansas State
UNC made a season-high 14 three-pointers and led by as many as 21 points in an 85-73 win against Kansas State in the second of three games at the Cancun Challenge in Mexico Friday. ¡Vamos Heels!@WellsFargo x #GoHeels pic.twitter.com/cmp8qX9b4r — Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) November 28, 2025 Six different Tar Heels made at least one […]
Chansky's Notebook: Lessons Learned
Most teams must play good defense to help their offense. UNC did neither vs. Michigan State and suffered its first loss.
›