College tosses plans for life skills degree

President cites financial, enrollment uncertainty as cause for abandonment

BENTONVILLE — Northwest Arkansas Community College has shelved plans for an associate degree designed for adults with cognitive disabilities, citing concerns over finances and enrollment.

The college planned to launch its four-year, 60-credit-hour occupational and life skills program this fall. The program would have been one of just a few of its kind in the country.

The college announced Wednesday that it was suspending the program indefinitely, a decision that came after much discussion among administrators, President Evelyn Jorgenson said.

“Given that this is a low enrollment program requiring a minimum college investment of four years, during a time of significant financial and enrollment uncertainty, we have determined that we must be good stewards of our resources and not start the program at this time,” Jorgenson said in a news release.

The program was meant to give adults with cognitive disabilities the chance to learn social, technical and financial management skills they need to become efficient employees. Students also would have built a personal career path that included an internship.

The college set April 1 as the program’s early admissions application deadline and June 30 as the deadline.

Three people were admitted as of Wednesday. Another nine were in various stages of applying, said Steven Hinds, the college’s director of public relations and marketing.

Officials hoped to recruit about 13 students each year so the program would be self-sustaining.

“We felt the projected enrollment was not optimum,” Hinds said.

Statistics show more than 10,000 people between ages 18 and 64 in Northwest Arkansas have some kind of cognitive disability, and about one-third of them are employed, according to the college. Cognitive disabilities cover a range of disabilities that affect mental functions.

Paula Towle is executive director of Autism Involves Me, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families. She has an autistic son in middle school. She said she’s disappointed the program hasn’t worked out.

“I felt like it would be a wonderful asset to our community in Northwest Arkansas,” Towle said. “There’s not very many programs in this area geared toward our kids who have special needs, to get them engaged and trained in the workforce.”

Towle wasn’t sure how much the college promoted the program, but the cost to complete it — about $40,000 — may have scared off some people, she said.

“For a family raising a person with special needs, it was probably a little overpriced. But I am still surprised it didn’t attract more interest,” she said.

The tuition was going to be more expensive than what the college usually charges because a lower student-to-teacher ratio is required.

The college modeled its program after one started more than 15 years ago at Bellevue College in Bellevue, Wash. The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the program in January 2015.

Karen O’Donohoe has been the program director since May.