UNCA will no longer mandate students take diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) credits to graduate, Chancellor Kimberly van Noort announced this week. All general education requirements and major-specific requirements mandating completion of course credits DEI will be suspended effective immediately, according to the university.
This announcement follows a memo from the UNC system’s board attorney to all chancellor’s on how campus leaders will comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order titled, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which prohibits program requirements related to DEI.
According to the memo, UNC institutions received approximately $1.4 billion in federal research dollars through contracts and grants in the 2023–24 fiscal year, which makes up about 62% of all UNC System research funds and 13% of the system’s annual budget. Asheville Watchdog first reported on the memo on Thursday.
The potential risk of losing over $1.4 billion in critical federal research funding is, “simply too great to defer action,” general counsel Andrew Tripp said.
Additionally, the UNC System received more than $600 million in federal dollars for student aid and other funding.
In the email sent to students and staff on Feb. 6, van Noort said the directive from the UNC system does not affect UNCA’s ability to offer courses related to DEI.
“UNC Asheville’s existing curricular requirements related to diversity intensive courses will be converted into general ,” van Noort said. “...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 to withdraw from that course without penalty.”
In addition, UNCA students are still required to meet the 120 credit hours to be eligible for graduation.
Van Noort emphasized that the university is working to ensure that the new change doesn’t affect upcoming May graduates.
“The University’s top priority is ensuring that this change does not impede graduation or your academic degree progress,” van Noort said.
At Western Carolina University, leaders are “currently assessing” the executive order’s effect. “We do not have a DEI requirement in our core curriculum,” a spokesperson told BPR via email.
Also this week, UNCA’s chief of staff and general counsel sent guidance to staff on how to handle visits and data requests from federal agencies.
There is fear throughout the county that immigration officials could make arrests at schools after the Department of Homeland Security created a new policy that allows immigration authorities to enter schools, health care facilities, and places of worship for investigations and enforcement.
This came after Trump rescinded guidance from the Biden administration that created "protected areas" like schools, churches, and health care facilities.
Both UNCA and WCU have guidance on how to handle visits and data requests from federal agencies.
If university officials receive a visit from federal immigration officials or other law enforcement officers they are instructed to ask the official to remain in a public area, contact university policy and then contact their office of general counsel.
For example, WCU officials are advised to give this statement:
"I appreciate that you are interested in obtaining some information from the University, and I am going to do my best to assist you. University policies and applicable law generally do not permit me to share information about our faculty, staff, or students with you. WCU protocol also requires that our campus police verify your credentials. I am happy to escort you to a place where you can wait for WCU Public Safety.”
The guidance also urges employees who receive a phone or email request seeking personal information about students or university employees to contact their university’s legal counsel.
In the memo from UNCA Attorney John Dougherty to staff, he adds, “The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student records and generally prohibits disclosing information without a student’s written consent. Likewise, North Carolina law protects confidential personnel records of employees.”
