ANC President, Dr. James Shemwell presented information about the Arkansas Northeastern College’s graduation rates for the past ten years. Each year, colleges and universities across the nation submit data to the National Center for Education Statistics through their Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). IPEDS publishes, among other statistics, graduation rates for annual cohorts of first-time, full-time (FTFT) freshmen. In the case of community colleges, the graduation rate relates to associate degrees obtained within three years of the normal length of a two-year degree. The IPEDS analysis also captures students who pursue technical certificates and certificates of proficiency. ANC staff analyzed the data on FTFT freshmen cohorts from 2009 through 2019, including racial demographics for the overall cohort each year as well as the graduate cohort within the three year timeframe.
At ANC, the overall FTFT cohort graduation rate has increased from 17.6% to 38.8% (20.2 percentage points, a 120% improvement) over the past 10 years. ANC performed better than the national community college average which is 36%. The FTFT white cohort graduation rate has increased from 21.9% to 40.5% (18.6 percentage points, an 85% improvement) over the past 10 years. This is slightly higher than the national community college white student average of 39%. The most drastic increase was with minority students. ANC’s FTFT minority cohort graduation rate has increased from 10.1% to 36.3% (26.2 percentage points, a 259% improvement) over the past 10 years. For many years, educators have referred to the difference between white students’ performance as compared to minority students’ performance as the “achievement gap.” As demonstrated by the analysis, the FTFT minority cohort graduation rate at ANC has either exceeded or been within a half-percentage point of the FTFT white cohort graduation rate in four of the past six completed cohorts, thereby eliminating the nationwide “achievement gap” in those years. Even though the most recent cohort results reveal a 4% achievement gap, minority students did not lose ground versus the previous year. The gap arose due to a huge increase in the performance of white students, with their graduation rate rising from 27.3% to 40.5% in one year. Staff is currently analyzing data and having exploratory conversations to better understand and consolidate the gains of the most recent cohort’s success. The results serve as confirmation of academic, advisement, and placement reforms made in recent years, and, particularly, the College’s focus upon and investment in holistic supports for under-resourced students.
ANC Vice President for Administration Don Ray gave a financial report for the College with the Board approving the financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022.
In other news, the Board was given a personnel update. Four faculty members earned rank. They are Lance Morris, Professor/Life Sciences and Instructor/Lab Coordinator: Gianluca Strazzullo, Assistant Professor/Choral Director: Emily Thomasson, Assistant Professor/Mathematics Instructor: and Dr. Gary Yarbrough Professor/Psychology Instructor. Additionally the Board approved the following new hires:
• Jennifer Adcock, Medical Professions/AH Instructor
• Torian Bell, Special Projects Trainer
• Megan Buchanan, Internship Coordinator
• Isabella Campbell, Director for Career Pathways Initiative
• Heather Carlton, Assistant Professor/Business Tech Instructor
• Michelle Chapman, Special Projects Trainer
• Austin Coleman, Welding Instructor
• Richard Dean, Computer Information Systems Instructor
• Bryndon Dunn, Public Safety Security Officer
• Alexis Harris, Admissions Counselor/Recruiter
• Chloe Johnson, Early College Specialist
• Adron Poole, Recruitment & Placement Specialist
• Mariana Reyes-Lopez, Business Manager
• Damon Richardson, Admissions, Data & Project Advisor
• Alexis Smith, Early College Specialist
• Floyd Stegall, Industrial Technology Instructor
In other news, Vice President of Instruction Dr. Keith McClanahan brought information regarding a new Certificate of Proficiency and a reconfiguration of an existing degree program. The Board approved a new Certificate of Proficiency and the reconfiguration of the AAS in Office Management Degree to include the original certificates and a newly embedded Certificate of Proficiency in Contact Center Operations & Customer Service. This new credential will be earned by employees of Chime Solutions, a large high-contact customer service center operator seeking to create a Contact Center in Blytheville. Chime Solutions desired the College to provide the training to address their need for preparing contact center professionals for their operation. Chime Solutions was directly involved in the creation of the course content of the training and they will identify prospective students and approve them to enroll in the program. Students will spend 40 hours per week over 8 weeks to accomplish the training goals. This 9-credit hour Certificate of Proficiency is embedded in ANC’s existing AAS in Office Management and will be a single new 9-credit hour course in Contact Center Operations and Customer Service. The reconfiguration of the existing AAS degree and the inclusion of the high-demand Contact Center Operations & Customer Service CP and the CP in Entrepreneurship will also allow students to complete the 60-credit hour AAS in Office Management degree, depending on their personal interests. Students who are more interested in the traditional administrative assistant/office management track may take that track, or the Entrepreneurship track, or the Contact Center track without needing to take additional hours to complete the AAS in Office Management. All Office Management tracks ultimately result in the 60-credit hour AAS in Office Management.
ANC Associate Vice President for Workforce Development and Allied Technologies Dr. Jamie Frakes brought two grant award notifications to the Board who approved Arkansas Northeastern College to receive grant funds, in the amount of $61,100, from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education for the purpose of implementing the annual Carl Perkins Grant. The Carl Perkins Grant is designed for the purpose of strengthening Career and Technical Education, with a focus on program improvement, flexibility, data and accountability. ANC plans to use the 2022-23 grant award to help fund a Perkins Program Specialist to assist in the implementation of the four year plan required by federal law for continued participation in the grant. This specialist will work collaboratively with the public schools, business and industry, and college CTE programs to support student success and help meet the workforce needs of our region and state. The balance of the funds will be used for professional staff development related to career and technical education.
Additionally, the Board ratified two Regional Workforce Grant awards, one in the amount of $200,000 for Advanced Manufacturing and one in the amount of $100,000 for Transportation/Aviation Maintenance for a combined amount of $300,000. The two new Regional Workforce Grant awards are from the Arkansas Division of Higher Education. The previous round of Regional Workforce Grant awards provided ANC with $122,000 for Allied Health and $29,000 for Computer Information Systems with both grants being fully expended this past year. The Advanced Manufacturing Grant award will be used to purchase equipment related to industrial process control, programmable logic controller (PLC) trainers, metallurgical training, and related training tables. A portion will be used to purchase acoustic panels for four classrooms/laboratories to reduce echo and residual noise. Also, 15 classroom/lab computers with related printers will be purchased to support specialized training/testing in three rooms. The Transportation/Aviation Maintenance Grant award will be used to purchase a PT6 turbine engine stand (Powerplant licensure training) as well as three aviation welders (Airframe licensure training). The grant has a one-year term.
Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Chris Heigle presented information about the American Rescue Plan which was signed into law in March of 2021. A component of that legislation included an additional $198 million for public institutions of higher education. In spring of 2022 the U.S. Department of Education held the Supplemental Support under the American Rescue Plan (SSARP) grant competition requiring interested institutions to qualify by providing evidence supporting at-least one of the five legislatively defined absolute-priorities. As a result of this competition, ANC was awarded $259,869. Like previous funds awarded under the American Rescue Plan, the U.S. Department of Education requires that the funds be equally split between the students and the institution. Therefore the Board accepted the grant and gave approval for $129,935 of the funds to be used for emergency financial aid grants to students, and the remaining $129,934 to be used by the institution toward its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrade.
Heigle also brought notification of TRiO grant awards. Three Federal TRiO Grants were approved for acceptance by the Board. The Educational Opportunity Center (EOC) is a program designed to assist adults 19 and older in returning to education - in college, vocational/technical, specialized school or GED programs. The program requires the advisors to serve 1,097 participants in Mississippi, Greene, Poinsett, Dunklin and Pemiscot counties in Missouri and Arkansas during each grant year. Services include help with the admissions and enrollment process and assistance with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process. The College has been notified that its Educational Opportunity Center program has been awarded $391,147 for the FY2022-23 fiscal year.
Educational Talent Search (ETS) is an access program designed to assist school-aged children in grades 6-12 in programs and activities that guide them to college and careers. The program requires the advisors to serve 1,068 participants in 14 public schools in 3 counties throughout Arkansas and Missouri. Services include ACT preparation, financial literacy, FAFSA assistance, college tours, study skills enhancement, and more. The College has been notified that its Education Talent Search program has been awarded $592,473 for the FY2022-23 fiscal year.
Student Support Services (SSS) is a long-standing program at ANC as part of the TRIO initiative designed to assist first-generation college students with basic college requirements and academic development, and to motivate students toward the successful completion of their postsecondary education. The program requires 175 participants to be served during each grant year. The College has been notified that its Student Support Services program has been awarded $335,111 for the FY2022-23 fiscal year.
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