BENTONVILLE -- A new position funded by a workforce grant that will train about 200 workers was approved Monday during the Northwest Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees meeting.
The two-year $558,892 grant will train 192 workers in Siloam Springs for La-Z-Boy operations, said Teresa Whitmire, executive director of business development. Some graduates of the program will be given additional leadership training. The company and the college have partnered before, Whitmire said. The grant comes through the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services and partners with other Arkansas community colleges. Business students will learn to build the frames for the furniture, assemble and cover it.
Up next
A financial update and the swearing in of Ronald Branscum, of Rogers, as a member of the Northwest Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees will be part of the October meeting scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Oct. 19 on the third floor of the Burns Hall on the NWACC campus in Bentonville.
Source: Staff report
"It's learning to build it from the bottom up," Whitmire said.
The program is a snapshot of what the college does outside of educate students out of high school who are looking for a two-year degree or are starting their four-year-degree at a community college.
Students enrolled in the workforce program don't come to the campus and don't get college credit for their learning.
Non-credit enrollment is trending up, Evelyn Jorgenson, NWACC president, told board members.
"When unemployment is really high, community college enrollment is really high and when unemployment is really low community college credit enrollment is low," Jorgenson said. "But we do non-credit training for all those people who are in the workforce."
She pointed to a retail analyst program moved from 69 students last year to 107 this year and a heating, ventilation and air conditioning program that jumped from 29 students last year to 48 this year.
The number of non-credit hours fluctuate based on business need, Jorgenson said.
Trustees talked Monday about the state's new master plan for funding colleges and whether that plan will consider only degree programs and not the other classes they provide.
Funding in Arkansas has been based on enrollment numbers for years. Administrators know that the new formula will be based more on outcomes, but whether that will mean classes, certificates or degrees will change what it means to NWACC.
"It all comes down to what they measure," Jorgenson said.
Certificates are typically nine to 12 credit hours, Ricky Tompkins, vice president for learning, told the trustees. A technical degree is about 30 credit hours and a associate degree 60 credit hours.
"You don't really need a certificate. What you need is a skill and you get that in the course," said Mike Shupe, trustee.
The certificate is the evidence of the skill, Jorgenson said.
Unofficial tallies of student enrollment released last week showed a drop of 202 degree-seeking students from last year to 7,962 enrolled in classes this fall. Credit hours also dipped from 73,664 credit hours last year to 70,074 this year, according to numbers released by the school.
Ric Clifford, board president, noted that the financial impact of lower enrollment would be discussed at the October board meeting. He asked if the growth in other areas will make up for the lower credit hours.
"Non-credit, as much as it is growing, is not enough to offset it," Jorgenson said.
NW News on 09/15/2015