• Two-year colleges serve four main purposes: 1) preparation for transfer to a four-year university; 2) technical skills education; 3) developmental or remedial education; and 4) workforce training for business and industry.
• Arkansas has 22 two-year colleges with a total of 47 statewide locations, including satellite campuses.
• More than 59,000 credit students attend two-year colleges in Arkansas annually.  Nearly half of these students are considered nontraditional, and the average age is 28 years old.

• Many students work full-time and attend classes at night, on the weekend, or through distance education, and many are the first in their family to attend college.
• An additional 50,000 Arkansans are upgrading skills via noncredit courses directly related to the needs of business and industry.

Student Demographics (as of Fall 2008):

Race

• White 70.8%
• Black 22.7%
• Asian/Pacific Islander 1.2%
• Native American 0.8%
• Hispanic 3.4%
• Nonresident & Unknown 1.0%

Gender

• Male 35.2%
• 64.8%

Age

• Less than 18 years 13.7%
• 18-24 years 43.5%
• 25-34 years 22.6%
• 35-44 years 11.7%
• 45 years or more 8.4%
• Unknown 0.1%