Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Enrollment Up At AUCCH

The University of Arkansas Community College at Hope is continuing to experience phenomenal growth. Fall enrollment lists 1439 students (Headcount) with 955 full time Equivalent students. This represents a 6.9% increase over last year, with a 14% increase in FTE enrollment. Chancellor Johnny Rapert attributes the continual growth of the college to its dedication to meeting the needs of the community.

"Our mission is 'to serve as an open access, full-service, community-based, two year institution of higher education.' We not only train for business and industry, but we also do an excellent job of educating students in the academic courses. Students receive one-on-one attention from faculty members and can enroll in programs which will give them higher paying jobs."

UACCH, along with other two-year colleges, makes college education possible for students in outlying areas who otherwise would not have access to higher education by serving as a University Center. "A University Center is designated area provided by our college to allow a senior institution to offer upper level courses to people in the community." explained Rapert. "For example, we offer a Human Resource Management degree, in which students are able to finish the last two years of coursework from Fayetteville on our campus through our Telecommunications program. Our first graduates will receive their degrees from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville next spring.

"The relationship of two year colleges to four year schools is a supporting role. Through our Telecommunications, Distance Learning, and Virtual College, we can form partnerships with four year colleges and universities to offer higher level courses. This is another way in which we strive to meet the needs of our community."

The mission to provide 'an open access, full-service, community-based, two year institution of higher education, meeting the academic, occupational, and avocational needs of Southwest Arkansas' remains the goal of UACCH.