2011 Legislative Round-Up

Arkansas is a term limit state, and 2011 brought a near 50% turnover with 18 new Senators and 46 new Representatives. To help engage new legislators, Representative Tiffany Rogers of Stuttgart formed the Two-Year College Caucus with the goal of sharing information and discussing pending legislation. The Caucus started off strong but attendance faded as the session heated up and legislators faced multiple scheduling conflicts. Representative Rogers plans to start the Caucus up again in the interim.

AATYC tracked hundreds of bills during the 2011 session. One theme that emerged as the session progressed was a focus on increased accountability for institutions of higher education.

Through efforts such as Achieving the Dream, two-year colleges are poised to face the challenge of establishing measures to determine how well they serve students. In addition, the AATYC Center for Student Success is leading the way for developmental education reform for two-year colleges. The goal of both initiatives is to increase certificate and degree completion for two-year college students.

Some legislation impacting two-year colleges includes:

Budget

• Despite an initial hope of a 1% budget increase, college and university budgets are flat for 2011-2012. Lack of adequate state funding is an ongoing challenge as institutions will likely face another year of record enrollment.

Accountability

• Open checkbook for higher education was passed, requiring institutions of higher education to post expenditures on their websites. These websites will be separate from the overall state agency open checkbook website.
• Higher education funding is currently based on a formula that determines financial need based on enrollment and other factors. The legislature passed a new formula that incorporates performance based funding at a rate of 5% per year over the next five years, with ultimately 25% being performance based. Performance measures will be determined by Presidents/Chancellors and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE).

Student Success

• Admission standards were revised to allow colleges to require a minimum score for admission. Students below the minimum (to be determined by ADHE policy) could be redirected to adult basic education in order to increase college readiness.
• Arkansas has passed legislation over the last four years to improve transfer, including full transfer of associate degrees. This session resulted in a law creating statewide common course numberings and transfer agreements for high-demand majors.

Lottery Scholarship

• Lottery scholarship award amounts were reduced to $4500 for 4-year and $2250 for 2-year due to expected lottery revenue shortfall.

Ozarka Nursing Graduate Continues to Excel

Roy Guiltner, Ozarka College Student

Ozarka College continues to expand its health care offerings because of the need for professionals in the allied health field.  The Arkansas Rural Nursing Education Consortium ARNEC program at Ozarka has recently expanded to accept 40 students per year, and the LPN programs continue to flourish.  Ozarka also continues to offer credit and non-credit Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) courses to the public as well as participating high schools and local nursing and rehab facilities as needed.

Many success stories exist from students and graduates within these programs.  A particular local graduate, Roy Guiltner is one such success.  Roy actually began his nursing career over 10 years ago when he was accepted into Ozarka's LPN program; he then dropped out the first semester.  He says, "At that time I lacked the confidence that I needed to get through the program.  I became discouraged and when the opportunity to go back to work fulltime came up, I quit nursing school and went back to my comfort zone of working in a factory."

After several different factory jobs and working off and on at Boeing, where he was in 2006 when the plant officially closed its Melbourne operation, Roy took another opportunity to go to college.  He credits several faculty and staff at Ozarka for helping him graduate the LPN program in May of 2008, then complete the RN program in December of 2009.  "I had to work very hard to make my grades and with the help of many caring faculty, staff and administration who continued to be my encouragers and believe in me, I began to believe in myself and completed my goals of becoming a nurse." 

Roy now works in the second floor Recuperative Unit of White River Medical Center (WRMC) in Batesville.  His passion for the mostly elderly patients in the unit is evident.  In fact, his most recent evaluation from WRMC states that Roy displays the caring qualities of a nurse that cannot be taught in school.  His advice to others who might think they cannot go back to school and begin a new career as a non-traditional student is to not give up.  "If I can do it, anyone can!  The faculty and staff at Ozarka truly care about their students and will be there to help you through when you get discouraged."

Roy is a lifelong resident of Izard County.  He and his wife live in Melbourne with their three teenage sons.  Roy's other passion is music. He has been the pianist at Midwest Baptist Church for 30 years and he enjoys shape note singing, which is a type of congregational note reading used mainly in gospel music. He admits that the piano is one place he exhibits high confidence and he is known in the local area for his musical talent.

Summit Highlights Arkansas Aerospace

FedEx Executive Gregory Hall addressed the 3^rd annual Governor’s Aerospace Summit on Tuesday, March 29 at the Hot Springs Convention Center. The Summit brought together industry leaders, government officials and educators to discuss the progress and needs of the aviation and aerospace industry in Arkansas. The Summit was organized by the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges (AATYC) Aerospace Training Consortium.

“We need to get the word out to students that not only are the aviation and aerospace industries interesting places to build a career where they can continue to grow and learn and challenge themselves, but they also can make a good living at the same time,” said Mr. Hall during his keynote address. Mr. Hall is Senior Vice President of Technical Operations for Memphis-based FedEx Express. He is responsible for the fleet’s technical operations including line, base and propulsion maintenance, engineering, and material management, areas that are critical to the safe, reliable return of aircraft to the system.

Ed Lugo, Manager of Manufacturing Technology for Northrop Grumman Corporation, served as the luncheon speaker. Industry leaders served as Summit panelists, including Ben Quevedo of Aviation Repair Technologies, James Roberts of Triumph Fabrications, John Miller of Dassault Falcon Jet and Paul Rich of Aerojet.

The U.S. Department of Labor granted $2.9 million to the AATYC Aerospace Training Consortium in 2008 to launch the project “Flying into the Future” to expand aviation and aerospace skills’ training in Arkansas.  The Consortium originally included eight two-year colleges, with the UA Community College at Batesville as the lead college.  Since then, the Consortium has expanded to include twelve two-year colleges. 

The AATYC Aerospace Training Consortium includes Arkansas Northeastern College (Blytheville), Arkansas State University-Beebe, Black River Technical College (Pocahontas), Mid-South Community College (West Memphis), National Park Community College (Hot Springs), Ouachita Technical College (Malvern), Ozarka College (Melbourne), Pulaski Technical College (North Little Rock), Rich Mountain Community College (Mena), Southeast Arkansas College (Pine Bluff), Southern Arkansas University Tech (Camden) and the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.

The Summit was sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Career Education, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, National Apprenticeship Training Foundation and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

Single Parent, Veteran Excels at National Park Community College

David Galloway, National Park Community College Student

As a student, a campus leader, and a veteran, David Galloway’s time at National Park Community College (NPCC) has left a lasting mark.  David is a mature and focused young man who consistently displays leadership characteristics in and out of the classroom.  David currently serves as the charter President of the NPCC Student Government Association (SGA). In this position he has been on a quest to motivate students to become involved in campus activities and service learning. He has also played an integral role in developing an SGA constitution as well as procedures, processes, and guidelines.

When asked about his time here at NPCC, David remarked, “The entire experience from student organizations to community involvement to classroom instruction has been fulfilling for me. The academic and political success I have experienced here has broadened my horizons and earned my everlasting loyalty. The time spent representing the school has been rewarding, with smiles from children as Frosty the Snowman, and it has given me the admiration to serve children and Veterans in a public office.”

Vice President of Student Services, Maggie Picking said, “I have had the opportunity to know David as a dedicated student and as a dedicated leader. As a student, he is committed to superior performance in the classroom.” Director of Student Support Services and adjunct instructor, John Tucker said David “is a challenging student, in that he asks tough questions of his instructors that require more than cursory answers. He does not shy away from difficult topics and is always willing to collaborate with his fellow students on group projects and assignments.” Tucker said that as a leader, “David was willing, even in basically uncharted waters, to wade into the collegiate-political arena and run for office in the Student Government Association. In his role as president, he is excelling. He is ably leading our student body during this transition.”

With a 3.98 grade point average (GPA), David has been named to the President’s Honor Roll for two semesters, and was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa last year. David will earn his Associate of Arts degree in the Spring of 2011, a feat he has accomplished in just one year.  When asked about his future, David said he would ultimately like to “pursue a law degree at an Ivy League school, practice law in the state of Arkansas, and eventually pursue a career in politics.” He plans to begin this goal by transferring to Henderson State University, where he will major in political science, and enter law school after completion of his bachelor’s degree. 

On a personal note, David is a single parent with full custody of his two children. He has served in the U.S. Army for seven years and has also worked as sales representative for a residential and commercial construction company. David has a clearly defined plan for himself, and states “I know how important sacrifice is for success.”

SGA advisors, Melony Ritter and Sue Burris, are also proud of all that David has been able to accomplish is just one year. “He is a hands-on and proactive leader”, stated Ritter, “always willing to dig in and take initiative to get the job done. With the help of his fellow officers, David has blazed the trail for future student leaders to follow, and we are proud to have him serve as SGA president and can’t wait to see how his future progresses.”