February 22, 2017
NPC TO BEGIN NEW HONORS PROGRAM
National Park College (NPC) Board of Trustees held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday, February 22. Items for report included a spring enrollment report and announcement of a new honors program.
The Board welcomed new hire Dr. Julian Post, ITC Educational Program Coordinator. Dr. Post holds an Associate of Science degree from NPC, a Bachelor of Science from Henderson State University, and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from The University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Student of the month, John Wes Allison was recognized. Allison is a student in the
Hospitality and Tourism program. He enrolled in the NPC Hospitality and Tourism Program
last fall and has already emerged as one of the stars of the class. He has maintained
a 4.0 GPA, was invited to join Phi Theta Kappa, and led the class to a second place
victory in the Hot Springs Annual Downtown Chili Cook-off.
Dr. Wade Derden, Vice President for Academic Affairs asked the Board to approve deactivation of the recreation degree. Henderson State University is changing their program menu and will no longer offer the degree in Hot Springs.
Derden provided an update on spring semester enrollment. College credit enrollment for spring semester following the 11th day count was 2426, down slightly compared to last spring’s enrollment of 2536. The drop is attributed to the decrease in concurrent credit students, currently 492. Total full-time equivalent (FTE) was 1581, flat compared to last spring FTE of 1585. Degree seeking students totaled 1934, also flat compared to last spring’s 1930.
The Community and Corporate Training division has garnered over 30,000 contact hours this fiscal year, approximately 1500 enrollments (duplicated headcount). The largest program enrollment is the QTI Electrical Apprenticeship program, with about 75 students enrolled each semester. These students complete 160 contact hours per academic year and generally complete the apprenticeship program in about four years. Additionally, these students complete 2000 on-the-job hours annually with one of the local electrical contractors.
Open enrollment classes for continuing education have seen growth. This increase can be attributed to the new pharmacy technician training program, which has contributed over 2,400 contact hours this
year. The division has also seen an increase in enrollment to the professional development training for business and industry, which includes computer skills and the new excellence in leadership series.
Mike Wiles, NPTC Director reported high school program enrollment is down 9.5 percent from last spring, at 519. He noted they are looking at innovative ways to improve enrollment.
Director of Adult Education, Bill Ritter reported Adult Education has served approximately 1,100 students since July 1, 2016. 98 Garland county residents have earned high school diplomas, and 85 students have increased their employability skills by earning WAGE certificates.
Social Sciences Division Chair, Dr. Chuck Argo presented the board with information
about the new Honors program scheduled to begin in the fall 2017 semester. He explained
that honors programs are common among two-year institutions and have the potential
to raise our academic reputation, engage faculty and students both on-campus and in
the community, and provide a tremendous recruitment tool for attracting local students
who will graduate and return to the community to work.
The main goals for the program include increased academic rigor for high performing students, expanded opportunities for transfer and scholarships, and increased retention and degree completion. The curriculum will include advanced research and critical thinking, service learning, international travel and cultural experiences.
Hogan concluded the meeting with the president’s report. Hogan noted that he attended the Lakeside School District board meeting Tuesday where NPC and Lakeside High School (LHS) announced that they received accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) for an additional location as part of the Lakeside Legacy program.
He noted the campus has participated in a number of Black History Month events including a showing of the movie, Selma which included an emotional open discussion following the film, increased activity from the Cultural Diversity Awareness Club, and various social media posts highlighting notable African-American historical figures.
Hogan mentioned that the legislature approved a new productivity funding formula for higher education and that the ArFuture grant program passed the Senate education committee today. He also discussed a number of initiatives for the upcoming year including the honors program, a completely online Associate of Arts degree, the National Park Promise scholarship for NPTC students, athletics, and expansion of the nursing program. He said the team hopes to double the nursing program’s graduates incrementally over the next few years in order to meet the local demand.
