NPC SEES GROWTH IN ONLINE AND TRADITIONAL STUDENTS
Hot Springs, Arkansas – National Park College (NPC) Board of Trustees held their regular monthly meeting Tuesday, September 26. Items for report included updates on transfer initiatives, enrollment data, and the campus high priority objectives.
The Board welcomed special guest Dr. Maria Markham, Director of the Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE), and new hires Melanie Norman, Upward Bound Tutor Coordinator, Tylor Clark, IT Support Analyst, Michael Barnes, Upward Bound Program Director, and Akaylah Jones, Upward Bound Curriculum Coordinator.
Anne Benoit, National Park University (NPU) Transfer Center Coordinator introduced university partners from Henderson State University, Arkansas Tech University, and University of Central Arkansas.
Vice President for Human Resources, Janet Brewer introduced participants for the 2017-2018 NPC Leadership Academy including, Dr. Ferris Allen, Donny Caudill, Nannette Crane-Post, Ana Hunt, Miles Morton, Cassandra Parks, Stephanie Rizzo, Jennifer Seward, and Brian Theroux.
Vice President for Workforce and Strategic Initiatives, Kelli Albrecht presented an update on the campus’ high priority objectives (HPO) that are used as an internal measurement of success, allowing the College to benchmark growth in key areas. Eight HPOs measure performance in student success, workforce, underserved students, credentials earned, enrollment, fundraising, transfer, and fiscal responsibility.
Dr. Jerry Thomas, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management provided an enrollment report. The 11th day snapshot showed an increase of 6 percent for total semester credit hours and full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment.
Last year the College reported 2,218 degree seeking students. This year’s count remains steady at 2,219 college students. Preliminary numbers show that full-time equivalent (FTE) for college students is up approximately 6 percent, from 1797 last year to 1899 currently. Total semester credit hours increased from 26,875 to 28,485. High school concurrent enrollment is 562, a decrease of 152 students from last year.
NPC participated in Complete College America’s “15 to Finish” initiative this year to help encourage students to take more hours and complete their degree on time. In addition to advising students to take more classes, a new simplified fee structure was implemented this fall that incentivizes students to take more credit hours by decreasing the tuition cap from 18 to 15 credit hours.
First-time student enrollment increased from 493 last year to 563, an increase of 70 students. The majority of this growth was in traditional aged students who made up 82 percent of new students. NPC’s overall student body has 60 percent traditional and 40 percent non-traditional aged students.
Online enrollment also increased 7.3 percent from 1678 to 1801. NPC invested in Quality Matters training this year for online faculty and plans to expand it next year.
Albrecht reported as of September 18, contact hours for Community & Corporate Training is up 8.7 percent over last year. Contact hours total 14,099 since July 1. Total headcount is up 18.4 percent with 762 participants since July 1. The increases have primarily come from a continued increase in customized workforce training, increased enrollment in electrical apprenticeship and the addition of our HVAC apprenticeship, and an increased number of summer camps.
Adult Education Director, Bill Ritter reported the program has served about 506 students since July 1, with approximately 12,000 contact hours.
National Park Technology Center Director, Mike Wiles reported enrollment for high school programs is up 21 students from last year from 574 to 595.
Benoit updated the board on NPU Transfer Center initiatives, which includes 69 transfer degrees. Participating university partners include Arkansas Tech University, Henderson State University, Southern Arkansas University, University of Arkansas, University of Arkansas Fort Smith, University of Arkansas Little Rock, and University of Central Arkansas. Each partner was invited to provide a display area in the NPU Transfer Center and will provide periodic visits from university advisors and recruiters. A grand opening of the space is scheduled for October 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Dr. John Hogan concluded the meeting with the president’s report. He thanked Dr. Markham and the university partners in attendance and commended them for the work they do for our students.
He discussed the College’s HPOs and commended the campus for the progress that has been made and said he believes it is something the College needs to continue to invest in. “The high priority objectives are metrics and statistics, but there are student lives that are impacted by success on those metrics. The fundraising and efficiency support student success, and every other metric is tied to student success. Our eight highest priorities here at National Park College, they are all about how students can be more successful. I am very proud of that,” Hogan said.
He reflected on the enrollment reports noting that through credit, non-credit, workforce, adult education and high school programs, NPC is reaching over 7,500 students annually.