NPC summer enrollment, honors program see growth

National Park College saw a 26.7-percent increase in summer enrollment, according to information presented at Wednesday’s board of trustees meeting.

Jerry Thomas, vice president for student affairs, told the board at its regular monthly meeting that the summer terms at NPC had 858 students enrolled compared to 677 students in 2017.

“The vast majority of the students that were enrolled this summer were part-time students and almost all of them were trying to complete their requirements for the associate degree,” Thomas said.

Thomas said the increase can be attributed to Congress’ decision to reinstate the summer Pell Grant program, which was eliminated in 2012.

“It was in place several years ago, but it was stopped I think around 2011, 2012,” he said. “Some folks thought it was a very, very expensive program and so that program went away. But last year there was a lot of lobbying to bring that program back and it was restored.”

Since being restored, a full-time student with 12 credit hours is eligible to receive $2,960 and a part-time student is eligible for $1,480.

“These funds can be used to cover tuition, fees, books, transportation or other college-related expenses,” Thomas said.

Thomas said a lot of students work during the summer months with the availability of jobs, but NPC students decided instead to enroll in summer courses toward completing their associate degrees.

“Fall enrollment is just too early to … talk about enrollment for fall because those numbers are changing daily,” he said. “Monday and Tuesday we had students dropping classes, adding classes. We had students as late as Tuesday even come out here and make an application and want to come to college this fall, so those numbers are changing daily. On Sept. 5, that’s when we take our snapshot of fall census date, so we’ll have final counts and enrollment on that date.”

The Honors Program is also seeing an increase in recruits, according to Christopher Thrasher, a history instructor.

When the program began in August 2017, 13 students were enrolled. For the fall semester, the program has eight students returning and has gained 28 new recruits for a total of 36 honors students.

According to a news release, honors students participated in numerous volunteer activities in the 2017-18 school year with Ouachita Children’s Center and Lake DeGray State Park, and helped clean up the college amphitheater.

This year, students voted to focus their volunteer efforts on Habitat For Humanity. Students also expressed interest in working with Ouachita Children’s Center and a meeting to discuss these efforts will take place in early September.

“Service learning is really important for the program and it has helped me explore various career paths,” said honors student Emma McKnight. “Through service learning, I have been able to figure out what career path I’m interested in.”

The Honors Program focuses on placing students into internships, with students working with the Hot Springs Police Department and Hot Springs National Park. Additional students are in the process of being placed.