Hope Kiwanis Hears UAHT Program from Brian Berry

The Hope Kiwanis Club heard from one of their own on Tuesday (2-25).  Brian Berry is Vice-Chancellor for Student Services at the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana.  He’s also a member of the club.

Berry talked about the concurrent programs the college has with area high schools.  Concurrent refers to students taking college classes while in high school and receiving both college and high school credit for them.  In these cases, the college has a formal agreement with the high school that the classes successfully completed by the student at the college level, those credits are also recognized towards their high school graduation.  Berry noted they had been meeting with Hope to expand concurrent opportunities.

Berry said Hope High is the college’s best partner for concurrent enrollment in terms of percentage they send to UAHT for concurrent classes.  Berry noted Arkansas High in Texarkana has a few more students in the concurrent programs but that’s a much smaller percentage of their total student body.  The college has concurrent agreements with 13 high schools in southwest Arkansas.

Berry gave some details also on the secondary career center which include the college’s technical programs such as welding, electro mechanics/industrial technology, medical technology, and other trades.  He noted the state funds this program.  Berry explained that certificates of proficiency are for one semester and technical certificates are for one-year programs.  He explained how students can get their CNA certification, work at that job, and pursue a nursing degree.

The collegiate academies were outlined.  Berry said this started with Hope and then Arkansas High wanted to do that on the Texarkana campus.  In this program, students start in the tenth grade and get most of their classes on the college campus except for sports or band.  Students that complete this program at graduation also leave high school with an associates degree from UAHT.  Almost all who receive their associates degree move on to a four-year institution.

One of the best programs the U of A community colleges offer is taking the community college tuition to a U of A four-year facility.  If a student receives an associates degree in Hope and moves on to a four-year U of A facility, they attend the four-year institution for the cost of UAHT.  Berry says currently, that’s a 71% savings over the regular U of A four-year facility tuition. This continues until they get their bachelors degree.  Berry says UAHT is the leading “feeder” to the U of A for this program even though the Hope and Texarkana campuses are the farther away from U of A Fayetteville.

The club enjoyed hearing about the college programs and also about how the collegiate academy is working for Hope High.