Colleges’ programs get state’s approval
Two new degrees debated by panel
HOT SPRINGS — The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved several new curriculum offerings from schools in the state Friday, although a pair of graduate degrees proposed by Arkansas Tech University sparked debate among board members.
The Coordinating Board approved ATU offering a master of music in music education beginning this summer, during its quarterly meeting at National Park College.
The degree is 100% online, and no additional costs for faculty, resources and equipment are anticipated, said Mason Campbell, the Arkansas Division of Higher Education’s chief academic officer.
“ATU became aware of the need for such a program by speaking to K-12 music educators at the state music conference and during recruitment visits to the public schools,” where myriad music educators expressed interest in such a program, he said.
ADHE received “a formal objection” to the proposed program from the University of Central Arkansas — one of several universities in the state offering a master of music degree — in July 2023 and ATU formally responded less than a week later, according to Campbell. The letter from UCA argued that ATU offering this degree would “unnecessarily duplicate an existing program in close proximity to UCA,” while the response from Jeff Bright, ATU’s Department of Music chair, noted that it was never ATU’s intent to duplicate a program, but, rather, the idea came as a result of requests from music teachers in the state.
In addition, “it is important to note that our proposal has distinct features and advantages that differentiate it from existing programs in the state,” Bright wrote. Furthermore, because ATU’s program is completely online, the uni
versity believes it’ll attract out-of-state students, not only Arkansans.
This is “a really exciting opportunity and unique in the state,” because music educators can undertake the degree while remaining in their current jobs, Bright said Friday. The National Association of Schools of Music approved it, and because the degree includes a healthy number of elective hours, students can pursue individual areas of passion under the music education umbrella.
Though Bright estimated an initial cohort of five students, that is “conservative,” he said. “We believe enrollment will be larger once we get the word out, [and] we feel good about viability.”
ATU “has a found a lowcost, low-risk way to add a new program” that can increase the number of Arkansans with graduate degrees, ADHE commissioner Ken Warden noted.
Based on the response from Bright/ATU to UCA’s initial concerns, UCA no longer opposes the offering; in fact, “UCA fully supports this,” UCA’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, Patricia Poulter, said Friday. “I see this as a win-win for all of us.”
Graycen Bigger, who chairs the Coordinating Board, still opposed the motion to approve the offering, however, citing “duplication” and a low level of interest by potential students.
The board also approved a master of science in counseling from ATU, also effective this summer.
“This multidisciplinary program provides two tracks where enrolled students could specialize in either rehabilitation or clinical mental health counseling,” Campbell said. A full-time fieldwork coordinator and a full-time tenure-track professor will be hired.
“Through the undergraduate Rehabilitation Science program’s Advisory Board, the institution became aware of this need from providers in the area, undergraduate student interest and anecdotal evidence collected throughout the state of Arkansas and its contiguous states regarding the growing size of caseloads for counseling professionals and number of open positions remaining to be filled,” according to Campbell. Anticipated new costs are estimated at $86,283 for the first three years, including library and instructional resources, one graduate teaching assistant, professional development and a salary increase for an administrative assistant who will have expanded duties, funded by tuition and fees.
Several other Arkansas institutions have similar programs, and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville — which offers a master of science in counseling program — formally objected in May 2023, to which ATU responded in July 2023, according to Campbell. ATU projects 15 students enrolled in the first year, with those 15 graduating in 2026-27.
“While we have strong student demand for our concentration in clinical mental health counseling, our experience with the rehabilitation counseling concentration is the opposite,” wrote Jim Gigantino, UA-Fayetteville professor of history and vice provost for academic affairs. The university “is concerned about declining student interest nationally for this concentration in this degree program as well as regionally since half of [our] students are recruited from the ATU undergraduate program, [so] this could result in under-enrollment in one or both program concentrations between the two” universities.
Julie Furst-Bowe, then ATU’s interim vice president for academic affairs, responded that “data appears to indicate that there is adequate demand for additional counseling programs in the area, the state and beyond.”
ATU’s offering would be unique in that it’s hybrid, with some aspects online and others in person, she noted. UA-Fayetteville’s program is mostly in person, while the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s version of this degree is completely online.
In addition, options provided by ATU’s program guarantee “that a student will either have a credential or have completed their own research prior to graduation,” she added. Furthermore, according to the Arkansas Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas map, published by the Arkansas Department of Health in 2017, “there is significant need for mental health clinicians not only in Pope County” — where ATU is located — “but in all of its contiguous counties as well.”
The program also would address needs beyond the state’s borders, she wrote. Last year, ATU’s board of trustees approved offering resident tuition to all graduate students in all graduate programs, which expands ATU’s recruitment opportunities beyond the region and state.
“We expect this program to be successful,” Tim Carter, dean of ATU’s College of Education and Health, said Friday. Considering market demand over the next decade for these professionals, “there’s a desperate need.”
It is “extremely difficult to recruit individuals with these credentials,” Warden said. “There’s a shortage in the River Valley, and it’s real.”
Several mental health agencies across the state also expressed support for the degree, Bigger said.
Other board members doubted the need for the degree, considering similar programs elsewhere and a lack of interest for them, including at UA-Fayetteville, with Jim Carr and Kelley Erstine ultimately opposing the motion for approval.
The board also approved offering the technical certificate in skilled trades, certificate of proficiency in Basic Construction & HVAC and the certificate of proficiency in Basic Electrical & Plumbing at Ozarka College, effective this fall.
The technical certificate will require one new, full-time faculty member and facility renovations, new equipment and consumable supply expenses are projected, according to Campbell. Ozarka College has received funding through the Office of Skills Development for $193,000, and upon approval of the program, a capital campaign in the Stone County area will begin to aid in covering remaining expenses, while continual support will be funded through tuition and fees.
The board approved a technical certificate — and several certificates of proficiency — for automotive/diesel mechanics, as well as a technical certificate in paramedic, at the University of Arkansas Community College Rich Mountain, effective this fall.
“We’re responding to local needs,” Chancellor Phillip Wilson explained in November 2023, when the University of Arkansas System board of trustees approved these offerings. With the high price of cars due to inflation, many people will keep their current vehicles longer, meaning “we’re going to be repairing a lot more cars.”
The automotive/diesel mechanics certificates use faculty and equipment acquired through grants and employer donations, according to the proposal. Several area employers expressed interest in this offering after a commercial truck driving academy was brought to campus.
Auto/diesel mechanics in UA-Rich Mountain’s region are retiring, and “there’s no one to replace them,” said Krystal Thrailkill, UA-Rich Mountain’s vice chancellor for academic affairs. “It’s a continuing problem.”
This program “would really benefit some of the top employers” in UA-Rich Mountain’s region, Bigger said.
When students “figure out there is money to be made, they want to get involved,” Thrailkill said. “We anticipate robust enrollment.”
The paramedic technical certificate will build on UARich Mountain’s “growing Allied Health program” and utilize existing resources, such as a new EMT ambulance simulator and classroom, but will also require investments in faculty, medical supplies, course materials and marketing, according to the proposal. New program costs are estimated at $485,000 over the first three years.
It will attract “traditional and non-traditional students,” five-10 annually, according to the proposal. The program will be funded by tuition and fees.
The number of paramedics in the state is short of demand, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it will continue to be a “stable, high-demand position.”
An ambulance service is one of Polk County’s largest employers, Bigger noted.
There’s “a desperate need in West Arkansas for people with knowledge and skills in the health care field,” said Kyle Carpenter, associate vice chancellor of academic affairs. “The return on investment for students is quite high.”