Missouri College Opens Classees Near Bella Vista

Crowder College Begins Center In Jane

Adjunct instructor of Criminal Justice Brandon Dill, from left, a full-time officer with the Rogers Police Dept., shows fingerprinting technology to his parents Dianne Dill and J.B. Dill, who are financial supporters of Crowder College, during a ribbon-cutting and open house for Crowder College's new James B. Tatum Hall in Jane, MO, on Friday January 10, 2014.
Adjunct instructor of Criminal Justice Brandon Dill, from left, a full-time officer with the Rogers Police Dept., shows fingerprinting technology to his parents Dianne Dill and J.B. Dill, who are financial supporters of Crowder College, during a ribbon-cutting and open house for Crowder College's new James B. Tatum Hall in Jane, MO, on Friday January 10, 2014.

JANE, Mo. — A Missouri community college opened an outpost Friday that could draw more Northwest Arkansas students.

The Crowder College McDonald County Center, at 194 College Road in Jane, Mo., is about 2 miles from the Arkansas border and about 8 miles from NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s Bentonville campus.

Nursing classes begin Monday at the center, and general education classes begin a week later.

Nursing student Stephanie Wheeler of Bentonville said she was drawn to the two-year registered nursing program because of its reputation.

At A Glance

NorthWest Arkansas Community College

NorthWest Arkansas Community College opened in August 1990 in Bentonville after a millage election in 1989. The school has classes at the Washington County Center and The Jones Center, both in Springdale, Farmington Center and the Center for Non-Profits in Rogers, in addition to its Bentonville campus.

NWACC Fall Enrollment

YearCredit HoursStudents

2009-1070,5038,006

2010-1175,3928,365

2011-1276,1478,528

2012-1374,4798,341

2013-1470,5928,020

Tuition

• $75 per credit hour in-district tuition for residents of the Bentonville or Rogers school districts

• $122.50 in-state and contiguous counties including Barry and McDonald counties in Missouri and Adair and Delaware counties in Oklahoma

• $175 per credit hour for out-of-state residents

Source: Staff Report


At A Glance

Crowder College

Crowder College was established in Neosho, Mo. in 1963 at the former Camp Crowder and first held classes in 1964. It has satellite campuses in Cassville, Nevada, Webb City and Jane in addition to its Neosho locations in Missouri.

Crowder Fall Enrollment

YearCredit HoursStudents

2009-1042,5124,407

2010-1149,6345,219

2011-1251,1165,410

2012-1351,9895,590

2013-1454,2135,845

Tuition

• $78 per credit hour in-district tuition for Missouri taxpayers in five school districts in McDonald and Newton counties

• $107 per credit hour for all other in- or out-of-state students

Source: Staff Report

“It’s a family here,” Wheeler said. “Instructors are invested in each one of us. It’s very obvious.”

Classes for the McDonald County nursing program started in a rented building in Pineville. That was a 25-minute drive and the new campus will be only about a 15-minute commute, Wheeler said.

The dozen classrooms and labs at the Jane campus will host classes in nursing, accounting, agriculture, business, criminal justice, English, Spanish, math, science and history.

Leadership at the Missouri college say they’re not trying to lure Arkansas students to the school, but it will attract them because of its proximity to the state line.

“We’ve felt for a long time that some parts of our district, and, frankly, parts of Northwest Arkansas are under served,” said Kent Farnsworth, interim president of Crowder College.

The commute from Noel, Mo., to Neosho, Mo., isn't always practical, so Crowder officials want to put the centers where the people are, Farnsworth said.

Because the building is at the southern point of the community college’s reach, it will serve not only Jane and Noel, but Bella Vista and Rogers, he said.

Some students might find Crowder more local or more affordable, said Andy Wood, Crowder board president.

“We’re not in ‘competition,’ but at the same time we’re not going to turn anyone away,” Wood said.

There were 258 Arkansas students among the 5,845 students enrolled at Crowder College this fall. There were 64 Missouri students enrolled at NorthWest Arkansas Community College.

The building will be named James B. Tatum Hall later this month for Jim Tatum, a founding college board member. Creating a McDonald County center has long been a goal for Tatum, who will retire from the Crowder board this month after 50 years of service.

The native stone and design of the building reflect its Ozark location, Tatum said.

Community donations paid for part of the center’s construction. Local families and businesses paid for naming rights to nearly every room in the building.

“It’s a striking example of who we are and where we are,” Tatum said.

NorthWest Arkansas Community College is doing a good job, he said.

“We’re not enemies. We’re partners, all of us in education,” Tatum said.

Student access to education has two primary factors: geography and time, Tatum said. The highway system makes everything close, but students want to take classes when they want to take them, not necessarily when they’re scheduled, he said.

More options will create more graduates, Farnsworth said.

In Arkansas, NorthWest Arkansas Community College is conducting focus groups this month on an expansion in Washington County that will give the college a second permanent home.

Evelyn Jorgenson, president of NorthWest Arkansas Community College, said she doesn’t see Crowder College’s presence in Jane as a problem for her school.

“I believe it presents an opportunity for more students to receive education and training necessary for their success,” Jorgenson said. “I am a big believer in collaborative efforts and educational institutions working together to provide optimal benefits to students and I am sure that we will find appropriate ways to do that.”

Dave Perozek contributed to this report.

Upcoming Events