SPRINGDALE -- A bill to make Northwest Technical Institute students eligible for a state scholarship program faces no opposition so far, its sponsor said.
The institute is a state-supported school offering programs for high school students and adults in industrial maintenance, diesel technology, nursing and information technology.
It's the only school of its kind in Arkansas.
Two-year colleges and four-year universities are overseen by the state's Department of Higher Education and require a high school degree or equivalent for full admission.
Northwest Technical is overseen by the state Division of Career and Technical Education. It became the last technical institute in Arkansas when Crowley's Ridge Technical School merged with East Arkansas Community College in Forrest City in 2017.
Scholarships funded by the state lottery are primarily for those high school graduates seeking a four-year college degree. Act 613 of 2017 expanded the group to include $800 scholarships per academic year for students pursuing an associate's degree or a professional certification in a high-demand field. Those fields are defined as health care, information technology and industrial fields in high demand as defined by the state Department of Workforce Services.
Northwest Technical didn't fit the definition of an "approved institution of higher education" in Act 613.
"It was more of an oversight than anything," said Sen. Lance Eads, R-Springdale.
His pending Senate Bill 113 adds the institute by name to Act 613's Workforce Challenge Scholarship program. The bill didn't have an opposing vote when it received a "do pass" recommendation by the Senate Education Committee on Jan. 27, two weeks after Eads introduced it.
The Higher Education Department supports the bill, spokeswoman Alisha Lewis confirmed Thursday.
Eads said he will take the bill to the Senate for a vote after more bills regarding scholarship money get through the Senate and House committee process.
"We want to run these bills as a package after checking to make sure none of them conflict with each other," he said.
The Legislature meets in regular session every two years, so the first chance to add the institute since the 2017 scholarship act was passed came in 2019. The Northwest Arkansas delegation including Eads tried, but the effort fell short, largely because other legislators were reluctant to change a program that was barely in operation.
There were also worries about the financial impact. The institute has 232 students.
"It all took some time, but I fully expect it to pass," Eads said.
The estimated average cost per year of attending the institute is $23,268, school figures show. That includes lodging costs for students not living with their parents in the region.
Jim Rollins, president of the institute, said the impact the school has beyond Northwest Arkansas is helpful in making the case to lawmakers to add the school. Many institute students come from outside the region now and graduates fill jobs elsewhere, he said.
"We have one of the best nursing programs in the state," he said of one field in particularly high demand.
The technical school offers training in nine diploma programs, including ammonia refrigeration maintenance, automotive service, practical nursing and welding. The school also features certificate programs for heating, ventilation and air conditioning; certified nursing; and phlebotomy.