Features
Take a second look at two-year colleges
Whether you’re entering college for the first time, looking to update your resume or just want training in a specific area to qualify for a good-paying job,” don’t overlook the offerings of your local community college.
The community college is one of the best bargains in town.
Classes at Arkansas’s two-year public institutions cost a fraction of what the same class costs at a private or public four-year college or university.
Much of the same financial aid in place to help with the costs of a four-year institution exists for community college students — meaning your precious financial aid dollars are stretched even farther.
For the high school student — or maybe you’ve been out of school for a while — most of the state’s two-year colleges offer classes to help entering freshmen bridge the educational gap they often experience.
Another plus for community college students is the fact that their associate degree will transfer to most of Arkansas’s public four-year institutions.
Like their big brother four-year institutions, community colleges are taking advantage of the latest technologies, with many offering online, real-time webcasts and Internet hybrid classes.
There is a generous offering of electives, such as photography, writing and much more. And you don’t have to be a fulltime student to sign up for the class — just remember to bring your books and your passion.
MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Like America around the turn of the 20th century, when the economy was moving from an agricultural base to one dependent on industry, today’s market-system is experiencing a shift from industry to one that centers on service and technology.
That’s how Robert Gunnels, Southern Arkansas University Tech vice-chancellor for extended education, explains one of the challenges our society now faces.
A hundred years ago, a person might simply find a job in a factory, but today’s job opportunities require more than a strong back.
Now, as when the concept of the community college was developed roughly 100 years ago, two-year institutions are scrambling to meet the needs of the local economy and its students. Changes in technology are driving the demands of students. Not only do they want an education that will make them employable and productive members of society, they want instant access to information.
There is a need for online courses that can be completed in half the time of the traditional classroom setting.
“We must be willing to adjust,” Gunnels says. By their very nature, two-year institutions are set up to be flexible, whether adding a new math class to meet the needs of a local employer or a multi-media degree to answer, he says.
“The entire culture is being driven by technology, and there are few jobs where you won’t come face-to-face with a computer,” Gunnels says.
He also believes two-year colleges can be a catalyst for positive change in any community and a step toward better jobs and economic development in the future. As does the U.S. Department of Labor, he predicts a long-term shift from goods-producing to technology and service employment. Service industries are expected to account for approximately 15.7 million new wage and salary jobs generated over the 2006-2016 period, while goods-producing industries will see overall job loss.
BUSINESS IS BIG
 | | NWACC has seen the enrollment number of veterans increasing. |
“We’ve seen the number of veterans increasing,” Jim Hall, executive director of community and government relations, says, from 150 three years ago to nearly 220 this last year.
In response to the growing presence of veterans on campus, the two-year college in Bentonville opened the George Westmoreland Veterans Affairs Office last fall. There, vets are able to find out about their benefits and other information.
Students are signing up for programs in health care, sustainability and energy management, and, driven by demand from Walmart, packaging, transportation, retail management, global systems and international commerce. Also, Tyson Foods and the growing number of restaurants in northwest Arkansas need chefs, and in response, NWACC was just approved for a culinary program.
“We’re responding to local needs,” Hall says.
Thanks to legislative changes allowing for the easier transfer of college credit hours, an increase in federal and state aid, and the lottery scholarship, Hall says, “Today’s (Arkansas) students are coming out of high school better prepared” and college enrollment is up.
GOING GREEN
Students interested in renewable energy should check out Mid-South Community College at West Memphis. This fall the college is unveiling its new energy program, which focuses on renewable options, such as bio-fuels, used in manufacturing or refineries.
“The program gives a student the foundation to understand and work with the processes used in this industry,” says Don Threm, MSCC’s publicity coordinator.
Like the Power Plant Technology degree offered at University of Arkansas Community College at Hope, the tuition for the renewable energy degree is free to students who declare the program as their major.
“It’s a unique opportunity for our students,” he says.
Along the same lines, the two-year college offers students training and classes in Advanced Manufacturing at its $8 million Workforce Technology Center.
The program offers classes in all aspects of basic and advanced industrial and business processes, technology management and manufacturing and offers a variety of opportunities in using, testing, and managing manufacturing systems and robotics.
The college offers a number of degrees, from a certificate at high school graduation to associate of applied science degree or a bachelor of applied science degree available on the MSCC campus, through the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment in professional, scientific, and technical services will grow by 28.8 percent and add 2.1 million new jobs by 2016. Employment in computer systems design and related services will grow by 38.3 percent and management, scientific, and technical consulting services are expected to grow by a staggering 78 percent.
FIGHTING FIRE IN THE CLASSROOM
While providing a variety traditional academic classes, two-year and certification programs, Southern Arkansas University Tech, part of the Southern Arkansas University system, offers unique technical programs as well. One of them is the Arkansas Fire Academy, which trained about 15,000 firefighters from around Arkansas last year.
Arkansas Fire Academy Director Rachel Nix says her small corner of the Camden campus has just gotten bigger. Originally built on about 20 acres, last April their spot grew by more than five times to 124 acres.
“It gives us lots of room to grow,” says Nix, who has been head of the department for the last four years. She was named to the Arkansas Fire Fighters Hall of Fame and was used as a model for the new Arkansas Firefighters Memorial, located at the Arkansas State Capitol.
SAU Tech’s eight-week Fire Training course is free to any Arkansas regular or volunteer firefighter. As part of an aggressive recruiting program, those who join a fire department and successfully complete the eight-week fire training program will get a scholarship for a two-year degree, says Nix. Tuition for a two-year degree is about $5,100.
The Fire Academy offers two degrees, one of which can be done completely online.
“It’s not traditional classroom training,” but it’s a rewarding career, says Nix. And she should know. Before accepting the job as the academy’s director and an instructor, Nix started out as an East Camden volunteer firefighter. “It’s really a neat occupation.”
A GREAT SUCCESS STORY
 | | Student Kelcie Wilson works on her laptop in the Kimball Library at the College’s De Queen campus. The College offers four Associate’s degrees completely online. |
Cossatot Community College, supported by a sales tax collected in Howard, Sevier and Little River counties, is adding new facilities and buildings, such as the Barbara Horn Civic Center at the Cossatot Community College’s Little River campus at Ashdown, and expanding its academic program to include a culinary degree, with classes starting this semester.
Thanks to cable television cooking shows, says Mark Riley of the college’s marketing department, the program is already proving popular.
“It’s taught by one of the best (former) chefs in California,” says Riley. Culinary instructor Larry Watson taught for several years at the San Diego Army and Navy Academy at San Diego.
“In addition to cooking skills, Watson will be teaching students how to work in and run a restaurant,” Riley says.
 | | Division of Public Services Chair Maria Parker and Culinary Arts Master Chef Larry Watson in the college’s new Culinary Arts kitchen at the Little River Campus at Ashdown. |
At the DeQueen campus, CCC opened a 3,000-seat theater; on the Cossatot campus, they’ve opened a new “shop” building, and at the Sevier County Courthouse, they’re preparing to offer a few classes.
“The Texarkana area is growing and we’re working hard to keep up,” Riley says.
Whether entering as a teen-ager right out of high school or a nontraditional student, students can get a helping hand from the college financial aid office.
“It can be kind of scary,” Riley says. For many people who live in the area, this is their first college experience.
For the nontraditional student, Riley says, “We’ve tried to make it an easy and quick process. We have people in place who can answer your questions and help you avoid the pitfalls.”
It’s even possible to register online, “without taking an entire day,” he adds.
Tuition for in-district residents is $48 a credit hour, or about $700 for 12 credit hours. Out-of-area tuition is a good deal, too.
The college offers a 50 percent tuition discount to members of the military and their immediate families. “We believe it’s an exceptional offer for active military members and veterans,” Riley says.
Like other community colleges across the state, Cossatot Community College is offering a mix of traditional classroom learning, along with online classes or a combination of both. It now offers four online degrees.
“It’s an exciting time. We have a great story to tell,” he says.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
The University of Arkansas Community College at Hope was happy to announce earlier this year that it had set a new enrollment record, with 1,336 students signed up for its spring semester.
“This enrollment sets a new record for UACCH, but more importantly symbolizes the change we are able to make in the future of our community and region by increasing the number of citizens with higher educations,” UACCH Chancellor Chris Thomason said at the time.
The community college is on track to set another enrollment record this fall, says Brent Talley, with the marketing and public relations department.
Like many other communities in Arkansas, Hope is struggling. “Because of the economy, there have been a large number of layoffs. The economy is bringing people back to school and we’re seeing more nontraditional students signing up for classes,” he says.
But despite the downturn in the community, Hope continues to make an education possible. Just in the last few months, eight new scholarships were established. There are scholarships for students who are pursuing a degree in medicine, teaching or law enforcement and more. For those who are interested, there’s even one for parents.
In addition, for students who enroll in the new Power Plant Technology program, there are scholarships that pay 100 percent of their tuition.
“It’s a great opportunity for our students” who are interested in working at the John W. Turk Jr. Power Plant that is under construction in the nearby community of Fulton, Talley says,
Tuition is low at UACCH, with a credit hour costing $54. “We offer an affordable, quality education and our foundation works to add scholarships,” Talley says.
In other campus news, the college will soon be opening the doors of its new Science Technology Center, says Talley.
 | | Pulaski Technical College is seven campuses strong. |
Now seven campuses strong, Pulaski Technical College continues to add new facilities and programs to its long academic lineup.
“We have five locations in Pulaski County, with two satellite campuses in Saline County,” says Public Relations and Marketing Director Tim Jones.
In addition to their recently opened Little Rock-South campus, which houses their culinary and transportation programs, the aviation facility near the North Little Rock Airport is expanding, and PTC just started work on its Business Technology Center a few months ago.
The Business Technology Center will house the college’s growing number of students who are pursuing training in business-related fields, including accounting, management and supervision, office technology, entrepreneurship, paralegal technology, law enforcement studies and medical office technology. Currently, there are about 950 students enrolled in PTC’s business programs.
The two-story, 20,405-square-foot center provides space for 10 multipurpose classrooms, conference and meeting rooms, faculty and staff offices, a student commons area and laboratories with instructional technology.
Construction is scheduled for completion mid-2010.
This fall, the college will celebrate the opening of the newly expanded hangar of its Aerospace Technology Program facility, where it trains students who are enrolled in the college’s Associate of Applied Science in aviation maintenance technology.
“It’s an intense program, set up by the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration], but when you finish the program, you can get a job working on planes,” says Jones. PTC also offers certification programs in aircraft manufacturing, avionics/electronics technology, and aircraft maintenance.
The culinary program is also mushrooming.
So much so, culinary students took over the business of food preparation on the main campus in North Little Rock. Jones says about their cuisine, “It’s great.”
Since its rebirth as a two-year college 17 years ago, PTC has created an impressive resume. It is now Arkansas’s biggest two-year college and fifth largest college overall.
Its programs have grown into an exotic mix — training for chefs, nurses, paramedics, automotive, diesel and aerospace mechanics, forensics, environmental engineering, music — and many are designed to transfer to a four-year institution.
While its main campus is located in North Little Rock and referred to as Pulaski Tech by the native population, the college has six satellite campuses that specialize in different areas of education. These include the Little Rock-West campus offering technical and general education courses; Business and Industry Center focusing on computer and industrial training; Aerospace Technology Center housing the aviation maintenance technology programs; Saline County Adult Education Center offering GED preparation; Saline County Career Center offering secondary career programs for high school students; and Little Rock-South.
Also, the college offers the state’s largest two-year, distance-learning program, with traditional or hybrid Internet “webinar classes,” and is the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s largest source of transfer students.
Another successful program on campus is the Arkansas Teen College.
Any middle school or high school student can attend classes, such as poetry, writing, 3-D computer programming, photography and more taught by college instructors. The program is designed to give students a taste of college before high school graduation.
Since 1991, enrollment at PTC has skyrocketed by 1,000 percent. Jones says he will not be surprised if enrollment reaches 10,000 this fall.
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