2 colleges OK'd to become part of UA System

NASHVILLE -- The University of Arkansas System voted Thursday to absorb two more community colleges, raising its number of two-year schools to seven.

UA System trustees unanimously approved Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock and Rich Mountain Community College in Mena joining the fold.

"You are truly an asset to the state of Arkansas, and we're excited to have you at the University of Arkansas System," board Chairman Reynie Rutledge of Searcy said at the meeting. "I think you will truly enjoy working -- not only with the system -- but with the other two-year colleges and four-year universities. Thank you very much for considering us, and we are delighted to have you on board."

Merging of schools has gained traction nationwide as states' higher-education funding has declined. Legislators and educators see it as a way to reduce administrative costs and redirect those savings to where they are most needed: student support services and academic programs.

In Arkansas, legislators have not raised funding for public colleges and universities for several years, but they have floated ideas for higher-education institutions.

In last year's legislative session, Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, suggested that the University of Central Arkansas in Conway merge with the Arkansas State University System i̶n̶ ̶J̶o̶n̶e̶s̶b̶o̶r̶o̶, headquartered in Little Rock*.

The idea never blossomed into a bill, but it worked its way to a new legislative Higher Education Realignment Task Force, which took a broad look at all of the state's higher-education institutions.

"I'm excited about the prospect of the voluntary decisions," Lowery said of the colleges voluntarily merging. "We're seeing so many of these happen organically. In some part, it tells me that the Higher Education Realignment Task Force is getting some traction and that institutions are hearing what we're saying: 'Yes, there are some necessary efficiencies by looking at these alignments.'"

Late last year, UA System President Donald Bobbitt had informal conversations with the presidents of Pulaski Tech and Rich Mountain colleges about the possibility of merging with the UA System. In January of this year, Bobbitt got the green light from the UA board to explore merger possibilities and report back.

In the months since, Bobbitt gave presentations to the community colleges' trustees, and faculty and staff members, and answered their questions. The presidents met with their faculties, staffs and students.

Rich Mountain trustees heard resounding support for becoming part of the UA System.

As the state's smallest two-year college, it has 932 students. All of those students now will have more programming options and receive degrees stamped with the "University of Arkansas" on them, Rich Mountain President Phillip Wilson has said. Students will be able to transfer within the system more easily. Many of Rich Mountain's students end up transferring to the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, school leaders have said.

Rich Mountain in Mena began in 1973 as a vocational-technical school and later became an arm of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. In 1983, it became a community college after Polk County voters passed a 5-mill tax to support it. The college opened with 290 students.

Now, the college at the foot of the Ouachita Mountains has satellite campuses in Mount Ida in Montgomery County and in Waldron in Scott County.

On April 27, Rich Mountain's trustees unanimously agreed to join the UA System effective July 1.

Pulaski Tech

At Pulaski Tech in North Little Rock, employees have taken a more guarded approach to joining the UA System. Their concern has been for the future of the community college, which is about 20 minutes from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Pulaski Tech was once the state's largest community college, but Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville eclipsed it last fall. Pulaski Tech's enrollment peaked in 2011 with 11,946 students. Enrollment fell to 7,648 students last fall. The declining enrollment has meant less revenue from tuition and students fees.

Pulaski Tech was founded as a Little Rock vocational school in 1945 and changed to a vocational-technical school in 1969. In 1976, it moved to its current North Little Rock site. In the early 1990s, it changed from a vocational-technical school to a community college.

Pulaski Tech officials have been looking for ways to cut costs in recent years. The college has $2.4 million less in total revenue this year than it did last year, and it has spent $2.7 million less this year. Administrators have reviewed vacant positions to decide whether to fill them. They've also offered early retirement packages to employees.

The college's board chairman said that joining the UA System will not be the school's savior. But Pulaski Tech trustees see it as an opportunity to improve student success and help the school's employees.

Bobbitt said the system can help the two colleges in the areas of legal, financial, internal audit, academic affairs, communication and government relations. Legislators have said that also will save money.

The college mergers are the first since last year, when what was Mid-South Community College in West Memphis joined the Arkansas State University System. Now called Arkansas State University Mid-South, it is ASU System's fourth community college.

Before Thursday's action, the latest UA System partnership was in 2004, when the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock joined the system. Just months before that, the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts at Hot Springs became part of the UA System. And about two years before that, Westark Community College in Fort Smith joined the system, becoming the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

Joining the UA System will afford the colleges more access to Blackboard, a learning management system. The UA System recently renegotiated its contract with Blackboard for all of its campuses. The contract includes all nine of the management system's add-on services and a free year of technical support, UA System officials have said.

Pulaski Tech President Margaret Ellibee said that by joining the UA System, the two-year college becomes part of a larger pool.

"Because we are a large school, that offers to us more advantages and probably we're looking at more immediate advantages we can take advantage of," she said.

College officials are hoping to quickly sign on to the UA System's Blackboard contract. The two-year school's contract with the company is set to expire in July. Pulaski Tech currently pays $180,000 every two years for Blackboard services and is able to afford only three of the nine add-on services.

The two schools

On Thursday, Bobbitt gave a short presentation to UA System trustees about the two schools.

Rich Mountain sits between UAFS to the north, and the three campuses of UA's Cossatot Community College, based in De Queen, and the Community College at Hope to the south and southeast, he said.

Bobbitt called the incorporation of Pulaski Tech "a significant addition" and a "very solid acquisition."

For both colleges, he said, he weighed not only their geographic locations, but also each school's quality of leadership. Both have strong leaders, he said.

"One of the trustees made a very good point: This is the right thing for the state," Bobbitt said. "And if you want Don Bobbitt to have an easy life, or Margaret Ellibee or Phillip Wilson or Fred Harrison, these are not easy things to accomplish, but we didn't use the difficulty of the process as one of the metrics in the decision. It was what makes sense for the institution, for the system and for the state. And on all three cases, it's a thumbs up."

Now, Bobbitt and the UA System staff will work with teams at both of the schools to fine-tune the details of the mergers. The two community colleges won't be expected to pay a share of a systemwide software project or invest in student success initiatives right away, he said.

After Thursday's vote, Ellibee and Wilson received welcomes and congratulations from their new system partners.

Wilson said Rich Mountain officials will take a "look and see" approach to some of the big-ticket items that the system can offer, such as Blackboard. College leaders will then make the most fiscally responsible decision in choosing what to opt in, he said.

"We are extremely humbled and honored to be a part of one of the most prestigious systems in the nation," he said.

For Pulaski Tech, Ellibee said administrators will hash out the details while keeping sight of the school's priority -- ensuring the success of its students.

"We're thrilled," she said. "It's a new chapter for the life of our college."

Lowery said the Higher Education Realignment Task Force is planning to release recommendations for the state's colleges and universities in November, and he hopes there will be more voluntary mergers between now and then.

The state currently has t̶h̶r̶e̶e̶ two* university systems -- UA,̶ ̶A̶S̶U̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶U̶C̶A̶ and ASU -- and o̶n̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶n̶d̶-̶a̶l̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶u̶n̶i̶v̶e̶r̶s̶i̶t̶y̶ two stand-alone universities -- Henderson State University and UCA. The state also has 10 independent community colleges.

And now, for the first time, there are more community colleges that are part of a system than are not.

The goal, he said, is to have all independent colleges and universities -- not including private schools -- to come under two system umbrellas: the UA System and the ASU System.

"That is the ultimate goal ... to bring the nonaligned schools into two," Lowery said. "We're hoping that the success that we've already been seeing organically with the two-years is going to convince the four-years that those same efficiencies will help that. It may be a heavier lift."

A Section on 05/27/2016

*CORRECTION: The Arkansas State University System is headquartered in Little Rock. The University of Central Arkansas is a stand-alone university, meaning not part of a system. Henderson State University is not the only stand-alone university in Arkansas. The city for the ASU System headquarters and the status of UCA and HSU were incorrect in a story Friday about Pulaski Technical College and Rich Mountain Community College becoming part of the University of Arkansas System.