National Park College (NPC) Board of Trustees held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday, February 28. Items for report included academic program changes, and updates about the building project, Honors Program, and nursing outreach.
The Board welcomed special guest Bill Stovall, executive director of Arkansas Community Colleges.
Steve Trusty, vice president for finance and administration provided a financial report. NPC received a continued Standard and Poor’s A+ stable rating for existing bonds and newly issued bonds.
Dr. Wade Derden, vice president for academic affairs asked the board to approve deletion of the Technical Certificate in Paralegal due to low demand. He also requested revisions to the Certificate of Proficiency in Automotive Engine Performance and Basic Business Law, and the Technical Certificate in Industrial Technology.
The NPC Honors Program has 13 participants this semester. All are on pace to graduate. Students have spent the semester gaining hands-on work experience and performing 273 hours of community service in placements throughout the community. Honors students are required to complete a minimum of 15 hours of community service. This year’s cohort has exceeded the minimum requirement with each student performing an average of 21 hours each while maintaining a rigorous curriculum and being active in student organizations. The College plans to increase Honors Program enrollment by 20 students next fall. The first honors diploma recipients will graduate in the spring of 2019.
Vice President for External Relations, Jeff Weaver shared about outreach efforts to expand nursing enrollment as a result of the partnership with CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs. The “Nursing Needs You” campaign has included billboards, radio, newspaper and periodical ads, search engine marketing and social media. Derden said 70 students were admitted in the registered nursing (RN) program last year. He said they hope to admit 80-85 this year, depending on the qualifications of the applicant pool. Students who are not accepted into the registered nursing program have the opportunity to apply to the licensed practical nursing (LPN) program, which has an LPN to RN track and admits 40-50 students each year. In total, NPC has approximately 200 nursing students enrolled each year.
Trustee Jim Hale provided an update on progress toward phase one of the campus master plan. The Board approved a $15 million campus expansion at a special called meeting in August, which includes construction of a new student commons facility, renovation of the Fisher Campus Center, and updates to technical program facilities. Hale said engineers are finalizing working drawings now and the College hopes to host a groundbreaking event next month.
Dr. John Hogan concluded the meeting with the president’s report. He expressed sadness for the loss of NPC Foundation Board member Ted Ericson who passed away recently and noted his advocacy for our students would be greatly missed.
Hogan mentioned that the other homecoming events were well attended despite the weather. “Our basketball teams performed very well that day. The students had an opportunity to interact with some alums,” said Hogan. “We have some opportunities to really build on that event. It was a good day.”
NPC received a substantial contribution from the Allen Tillery family. Hogan thanked the family for the generous gift, which includes 47 original pieces by contemporary artist Shwan Ziwar. The art will be on display soon.
He noted the campus has had a number of successful events this week including College Exploration Day, GradFest and the Dean’s and President’s List Reception.
