BENTONVILLE - NorthWest Arkansas Community College is taking its first steps toward complying with a new state law that asks university and college campuses to decide whether faculty and staff can carry concealed handguns on campus.
The college’s Board of Trustees heard information from security staff Monday as it began to weigh their options in response to the law passed by the state Legislature last month.
At A Glance
Summer Efficiency
NorthWest Arkansas Community College is planning to adopt a four-day workweek from May 20 to June 26 to save on energy costs. Employees will work from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, but hours can be adjusted by supervisors to adapt to individual employee needs, said Ricky Tompkins, associate vice president for research and planning. Exceptions will be made for a few programs that have additional needs.
Source: Staff Report
“We are starting the process of gathering facts on what we should or should not do in relation to this,” said Ric Clifford, board chairman. “I think we have to consider what we currently have in terms of security and our policies, and also some insight and input from the faculty and staff. They are the folks who will really be impacted the most. In addition, I think we ought to consider the students and how the students feel about it.”
The task at hand is a departure from the board’s traditional duties of fiscal and educational oversight, Clifford said.
“This adds a whole new layer of responsibility to that, one for which we were not elected but will be put in a position to have to make a decision on,” he said.
Ethan Beckcom, executive director of emergency and risk management, said current policies take a holistic approach to violence prevention, mitigation, preparation and response training. The college has a security staff of 11 commissioned police officers and 15 noncommissioned officers to serve its approximate student population of 8,100.
“We have our own police department, just like Bentonville has its own department,” Beckcom said.
The officers participate in regular training with staff and local law enforcement on emergency situations, including shootings and mass disasters. The campus is outfitted with 250 security cameras, 250 LED screens that can display emergency information and panic alarm devices in “high stress locations.” The campus also uses a text messaging alert system to get the word out in case of emergency.
Some of these measures came in response to the shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007 that left 32 people dead, said Joe Spivey, board vice chairman. The college added more video cameras and panic buttons in the wake of the shooting.
“We started being proactive a long time ago,” Spivey said.
Todd Kitchen, vice president for learner support services, presented information on the college’s behavior intervention program that aims to stop violent situations before they start. The policy includes a campus-wide reporting system on troubled individuals and intervention from a team of providers.
A newly formed Behavior Review Team is charged with assisting individuals and picking out trends at the campus level. Kitchen stressed that the program offers help, not punishment, to students in need.
The team was put to the test a few months ago when a crying student curled up in the fetal position in the classroom floor, blood pouring from his ears. Intervention staff responded to the classroom and got him the appropriate medical and psychological assistance, Kitchen said. A few days later, the review team met with the student in an attempt to determine the root cause of the breakdown and found out the student is homeless.
“That’s an issue we’d never encountered before,” Kitchen said.
The end goal is to create a safe learning environment that allows students to be successful in their educational endeavors, he said.
The board will hear further from security staff at the April board meeting and make a decision in May, Clifford said. The law will take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns, which is typically in March or April.
Spivey told board members the college’s foundation is considering purchasing land adjacent to the Arvest Ballpark in Springdale to expand its campus to Washington County.
The 40-acre parcel is located just west of the baseball park, Spivey said. Funding options for the purchase include tuition use, philanthropic gifts or help from the Foundation, he said.
“No millage funds will be used for the project, and Washington County students will still have to pay out-of-county fees,” Spivey said.
The college receives millage funds from taxpayers in the Bentonville and Rogers School districts. Students attending the community college who do not reside in either of these districts pay about $50 more per credit hour than students who live in the two districts.
Spivey said that about 40 percent of the college’s students drive from cities in Washington County to the college campus in southeast Bentonville.
“This would provide improved access for students,” Spivey said.