Arkansas State University Three Rivers
Arkansas State University Three Rivers is a public, two-year learning institution that has undergone several evolutions in name and structure since the State Board of Education established the school as Ouachita Vocational Technical School in 1969.
OVTS opened its doors in Jan. 1972 with 292 students, and the campus has since been home to countless Hot Spring County students pursuing higher education and better opportunities for the future. The school changed names a few times before settling on ASU Three Rivers and becoming part of the ASU System in 2020.
In the 2019-20 school year, the college awarded 654 degrees/certificates of the following variety: 333 certificates of proficiency, 124 associate’s degrees, and 197 technical certificates. The school offers numerous learning and degree programs that can either prepare students to immediately join the workforce or further their education at a 4-year university.
Tuition rates at ASUTR are lower on average than state universities, and the payoff is impressive when looking at first-year graduates’ reported earnings. “We’ve got our labor information, and our two-year graduates have the highest average starting salary of any college in the state of Arkansas,” ASUTR Chancellor Steve Rook stated.
According to information released by the college, “ASU Three Rivers’ 2016-17 graduates earned the highest wages of all two-year institutions for 2017-18 first year employment per the 2019 Economic Security Report published by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services. ASUTR Nursing graduates earned the second-highest.”
Other data showed the average 2016-17 starting wages of ASUTR 2015-16 graduating students who earned an associate’s degree was $44,374, while the average wages for students with a bachelor’s degree from 4-year state universities was $39,644.
Rook said the college is happy with the reports but focused on continual growth and expansion of their curriculum. They have numerous plans for improvement and always try to meet the educational, environmental, and socioeconomic needs of the community.
“We are starting a practical nursing cohort in Benton that will start in May,” Rook said. “We are planning to start on a nursing building as soon as possible. We’re working with our system on financing,” Rook shared.
Rook said the college expects to add on-campus housing and extracurricular activities. “There are plans for athletics and residence halls. We’re hoping for Fall of 2023,” Rook added.
The college purchased the Historic Ritz Theatre a few years ago and is finishing up Phase II of the threephase renovation. “We are requesting the funding from the ANCRC (Arkansas Natural & Cultural Resources Council) for Phase III of the theatre. We submitted our request March 1, and we are estimating it’ll take about $1.66 million to finish it out,” Rook said.
“It is going to be a community auditorium, basically,” Rook said. “We’ll have as many of our events in there that we can have, like our nurses’ pinnings and student awards ceremony.” Rook said.
The theatre will also be available for community events or private functions. “We’ll have some special kind of movie events, hopefully do some things in the summer for kids,” Rooks said. “We’ll have all kinds of AV capabilities for anybody who wants to have a meeting.”
The college will soon be offering space throughout the building for sponsorship, which entitles the sponsor to a free one-time use of the facility. “Whenever we get it done, we’ll do some sort of grand opening,” Rooks said.
Rook wanted to inform current and potential students that the college will be switching to a new computer system very soon. “We have a new computer system, and students are going to have to do things a little differently than they’ve had in the past, as far as registration is concerned, as far as applying and that sort of stuff, and being advised,” Rook said. “It’s going to be better when we get it all in place, but students need to kind of watch their email to see announcements about the new registration process.”
For more information about ASUTR’S many programs and services, or for assistance, call 501-3320280 or visit ASUTR.EDU.