N.C. A&T, NSA Sign Agreement to Expedite Time for Earning Degree

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 14, 2022) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the National Security Agency (NSA) have signed a new articulation agreement that will provide additional opportunities to achieve a degree in an expedited timeframe. The new articulation agreement allows NSA employees who complete coursework through NSA’s school house, the National Cryptologic University, to transfer applicable coursework toward a degree at N.C. A&T.

A&T, designated as both a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity and a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research, is the first historically Black college or university (HBCU) to enter into an articulation agreement with NSA’s National Cryptologic University.

“Our relationship with the NSA over many years now has helped us to deepen our work and expertise in cybersecurity and other disciplines integral to the agency’s work,” said Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. “This agreement expands that relationship by helping NSA’s National Cryptologic University students to progress toward the completion of university degrees. Like so many other dimensions of our partnership, we continue to find ways to be beneficial to each other and to the communities and students we serve.”

The agreement will give the NSA’s global workforce, which includes active-duty military and civilians, an accelerated online path toward a degree or advanced certificate at the nation’s largest HBCU through the transfer of credits from National Cryptologic University courses. Established in 1965, the National Cryptologic University provides classes in language, cryptology, leadership, education and business expertise to NSA employees.

“This articulation agreement provides additional avenues for the NSA workforce to continue their education, while decreasing the time it takes for them to complete their degree,” said National Cryptologic University’s Commandant Mark Asselin, Ph.D. “NSA’s National Cryptologic University is proud to have an agreement with North Carolina A&T that offers our workforce additional opportunities for educational development.”

The agreement also recognizes the complementary nature of the A&T and NSA programs. It takes advantage of the A&T curriculum’s mission of preparing graduates to address the world’s challenges, particularly in STEM fields, and provides NSA’s employees with additional avenues to enrich their technical expertise.

A&T has been the nation’s largest HBCU for eight consecutive years and is the No. 1 producer of bachelor’s, masters and doctoral degrees awarded to African American engineers and computer scientists in the nation. It had its largest-ever student body of 13,322 this fall. This included enrollment of 1,092 online students, a 47.6% increase from Fall 2020 and a five-year increase of 104%.

A&T Online is administered by A&T’s Extended Campus and offers 28 fully online degree and certificate programs. Among U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 national online rankings, A&T Online programs are ranked No. 19 overall in Best Online Master’s in Computer Information Technology Programs and tied at No. 20 in Best Online Master’s Programs in Computer Information Technology for Veterans.