BENTONVILLE -- The adoption of a productivity-based funding model for state-supported institutions of higher education was by far the most impactful thing to come out of the past legislative session for Northwest Arkansas Community College, according to one college official.
Jim Hall, director of government and community relations, on Monday presented the college's board a recap of new state laws relevant to the college.
Promotional and Recruitment
The Northwest Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees approved spending $40,000 on “promotional and recruitment” items for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The items were part of the overall budget of $41.9 million the board approved last month, but state statute requires the board approve of the expenditure specifically. Student Activities is the department receiving the largest portion of the promotional and recruitment money at $8,000.
Source: Northwest Arkansas Community College
House Bill 1209 by state Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, was signed into law and became Act 148 in February. It authorizes the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board to implement a funding formula for colleges and universities based on student success rather than enrollment.
"We see this as an opportunity for us," Hall said after Monday's meeting. "If we perform, we'll be funded at a level that's comparable to other institutions across the state. So for us, it's a matter of fairness."
The college this fiscal year got about 29 percent of its revenue -- about $11.7 million -- from the state. About 50 percent came from tuition and fees and another 15 percent from a millage tax.
Northwest Arkansas Community College officials long have pointed out they receive far less state money per full-time student than other two-year schools in the state, meaning the college must make up for that deficit in other ways.
The Department of Higher Education last month approved a scoring system that will provide a school's "productivity index." Department staff will use that index to determine whether a school improved from one year to the next. That would determine whether the school gets more, less or the same funding from the state for fiscal year 2019.
The coordinating board will make a recommendation in October on the college's funding for fiscal 2019, Hall said.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson has pledged $10 million toward higher education funding for fiscal 2019, which begins July 1, 2018.
Hall mentioned numerous other new laws of importance to the college Monday.
Senate Bill 673, which became Act 1118, states any high school student who qualifies for a free or reduced-price meal shall not be required to pay any of the costs for up to six credit hours of college courses taken concurrently.
Either the college or the school district -- or a combination of both -- will be required to pay for those credit hours.
The law takes effect this fall, but some clarification is needed on it, said Evelyn Jorgenson, college president.
"It says a maximum of six credit hours," Jorgenson said. "We don't know if that means six credit hours a semester, or a year ... or for a lifetime."
Northwest Arkansas Community College officials met with about a dozen school district superintendents from the area last month to discuss this subject. The college provides a 60 percent tuition discount to high school students, Hall said.
A lot of higher education officials would like to see a concurrent tuition rate that could be applied to institutions statewide, Hall said.
Hall also discussed House Bill 1839, sponsored by state Rep. Rick Beck, R-Center Ridge, known as the "Local Food, Farms and Jobs Act."
Any agency that receives $25,000 from the state for the purchase of food must ensure at least 10 percent of its budget for food is spent on local food or farm products for the fiscal year that starts July 1. That figure jumps to 20 percent for the following fiscal year.
Hall said the college's culinary department, Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, buys a lot of food. The college will far exceed the percentages laid out in the law, he said.
"We'll probably be a model for that legislation, actually," Hall said.
Act 562, signed into law in March, allows anyone with a concealed-carry permit to bring a gun on campus if they get up to eight hours of training beyond what's otherwise necessary to obtain a permit.
The law goes into effect Sept. 1. The Arkansas State Police has 120 days to write the curriculum for the extra training.
"So it will be next spring before anybody is legally able to carry on campus," Hall said.
In the meantime, the college has assembled a committee that's examining the implications of the gun law and how it meshes with all kinds of college policies.
NW News on 06/13/2017