Treasurer: Savings for college on rise
A college-savings program run by the state treasurer's office has grown by $130 million over two years, meaning more money is going into savings accounts, the office said.
The Arkansas 529 College Savings Board reported the 22.7 percent increase from January 2015 to January 2017, treasurer's office spokesman Stacy Peterson said. Family members set up the college-savings accounts for beneficiaries, who, after graduating from high school, can withdraw the money tax-free for expenses for college, university, or vocational or technical school.
The increase comes at a time when the cost to attend college is rising. Colleges and universities have received flat funding from the state for the past decade and have turned to rely more on tuition and mandatory fee revenue.
The treasurer's office said the increase in the accounts is in part because of Treasurer Dennis Milligan's visits to all of the state's 75 counties to promote the college-savings program and of the strengthening of the iShares portion of the program. That portion is under the 529 umbrella and is adviser-sold, Peterson said.
Accounts have also grown because of the flexibility in which families can donate, including online contributions and through linked debit or credit cards at no cost to the donor.
More information on the savings accounts can be found at the treasurer's website at www.artreasury.gov.
Harding, ArcBest team up for MBA
Harding University is now offering a master's in business administration degree to employees of a Fort Smith-based logistics company.
Employees at ArcBest can now take courses to receive the degree at the company's headquarters in Fort Smith. The private university will hold classes weekly, paving the way for ArcBest employees to finish two courses a semester. Employees will also be able to enroll in electives related to the industry on-site, or otherwise, online in the summer, according to a news release.
Harding enrolled the inaugural student group of 12 employees Jan. 9.
The partnership isn't the first of its kind for the private, Searcy-based university. Harding has worked with Murphy USA in El Dorado for the past 1o years, facilitating 50 of the retail-fuel and convenience-store firm's employees to earn a master's degree, the university said.
Metro on 02/12/2017