FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Weaver, Melony Ritter
(501) 760.6410 office
press@np.edu
May 25, 2016
NPC APPROVES BUDGET, LAUNCHES NP.EDU
Hot Springs, Arkansas – The National Park College (NPC) Board of Trustees held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday, May 25. Items for report included the budget for the 2016-2017 fiscal year and unveiling of the new website, www.np.edu.
Testing Center Director, Suzy Still was recognized for the NPC Testing Center’s recent certification award from the National College Testing Association (NCTA). The Center is the fifth in the state to receive national certification by the National College Testing Association. Certification status acknowledges adherence to best practices in the testing industry, adds to the center’s validity for prospective distance learning students, vendors, and other organizations, and certifies that our test center operates under the highest accepted standards and practices for all types of testing.
Steve Trusty, Vice President for Finance and Administration presented the proposed budget for 2016-2017. He discussed the changes to budget structure due to the proposed reorganization of departments and the premises for decision making during the budget process. Trusty said he believes the budget is efficient, conservative and structurally sound with a focus on reduced administrative overhead and a reinvestment in services that touch students directly.
Budget premises included keeping tuition flat. The College lowered tuition last fall, and was the only college in the state to lower tuition for Arkansas students. Other premises included a continued investment in bringing employee salaries to an equitable level, increased health premiums for employees, conservative enrollment predictions, establishment of a recurring reserve fund, and anticipation of flat state funding.
The proposed budget includes funding for faculty to implement over 15 new degrees, all of which come with new transfer agreements, funding for a robust enrollment management and recruitment program, and student success initiatives designed to drive student retention and degree attainment. These efforts are directly aligned with the community’s desire to retain graduates in Garland County.
The proposed budget reduces administrative overhead in favor of faculty and student affairs positions. It includes investments in NPC’s employees, including Quality Pay I and II, wellness initiatives, and other professional development and leadership opportunities.
Communications Director, Melony Ritter unveiled the new website, www.np.edu to the Board. She explained that the College’s website is a large and complex collection
of smaller websites organized by an audience specific navigation system. The site
consists of 881 unique pages of content and 77 individual department sites. The web
team, which includes Ritter, Web Developer, Jake Berry, and part-time web content
editor, Diane Bruce, has spent the semester rebuilding pages for the College’s academic
degree programs and migrating content from the old website. The team plans to redesign
pages for other College departments over the coming months and is placing special
emphasis on web writing techniques that increases search engine optimization and allows
readers to quickly scan for information. Aside from the new look and feel, the new
site includes a simplified menu, a fully responsive design that resizes to fit any
device screen, is compatible with all modern web browsers, and includes upgraded calendar
features and news feeds.
Photo 1: Melony Ritter, Communications Director pictured with the new np.edu, Trustee
Don Harris and Vice President for External Relations, Jeff Weaver.
Photo 2: Jake Berry, Web Developer, pictured with the new np.edu which was unveiled
Wednesday during the monthly Board of Trustees meeting at National Park College.
Vice President for External Relations, Jeff Weaver said, “A project of this magnitude
is a campus wide effort. I am extremely proud of the work my team has put into it
and appreciate all of the support from our division chairs to make it happen.”
Dr. John Hogan, president, concluded the meeting with the president’s report. He expressed
his appreciation to the Board for their guidance during the budgeting process. He
noted the Board has passed a budget that is structurally sound, focuses on students
and programming, and invests in our human capital. He thanked everyone who was involved
with the commencement ceremony and the Board members who attended. This academic year
has been one of great change and includes many impressive accomplishments. Hogan thanked
the faculty and staff for all of the hard work they have done to make this year successful.
