Arkansas Department of Higher Education

Perkins IV team members include the VP for Student Services/Registrar, VP for Instruction, VP for Advancement, Dean for Occupational Programs and Extended Campus Operations, Dean for Technical Programs & Training, Assessment Coordinator, Dean for Nursing/Allied Health, Developmental Education Coordinator, and Dean for Management Information Technology Services. Each participant provided detailed information via email or phone at the coordinator’s request.

The Secondary Center located on the Burdette campus currently serves five area high schools and will welcome a sixth school for fall of 07. The center offers concurrent credit in the areas of Criminal Justice, Advanced Manufacturing, Medical Professions, Computer Aided Drafting, and Welding. The college is currently awaiting approval from the Department of Workforce Education for a teacher education program to begin fall 07. Each of the secondary programs of study is aligned as an entry point for at least one career pathway. In addition, each program offers at least one, and as many as four, courses for concurrent high school and college credit. This college credit is offered free of charge to the students, and this reduces duplication of content at the post-secondary level. ANC currently has articulation agreements in place that extend the AAS program of study to include the baccalaureate degree. The degree programs include the Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice through Southeast Missouri State University and Franklin University which fall under the Law Enforcement Services Pathway/CIP 43.0103. ANC also articulates with Franklin University, the Applied Management, Health Care Management, and Business Administration bachelor degrees. ANC is currently working with Arkansas State University to articulate the Bachelors of Technology degree. ANC Technical Center Program in Advanced Manufacturing leads to an Associate Degree at ANC, which leads to a B.S. in Technology at U of A Fort Smith. No expenditure of Perkins funds is necessary.

ANC will continue to promote academics in CTE programs by identifying student academic deficiencies that would hinder their success. Those deficiencies in reading, writing, and math require students to enroll in developmental education during the first semester to eliminate said deficiencies. Programmatic support is provided to CTE students enrolled in basic academic skills by the Learning Assistance Center staff. CTE students are held to the same standards of excellence in completing academic coursework and take the same academic core as their AA counterparts. The technical certificates and applied science degrees have English and Math core components.

Work-based learning experiences are available for CTE students majoring in Office Technology, Allied Health, Criminal Justice, Computer Information Systems and Service & Retail Business. Advisory council members, composed of local supervisors and managers, partner with CTE faculty to ensure faculty are teaching curricula that represents all aspects of an industry. In addition, the college depends heavily on local businessmen and women to serve as adjunct faculty. This faculty brings their considerable experience and knowledge into the classroom. CTE students gain valuable insight into HS/HW/HD jobs and careers. Students also participate in career and technical professional organizations such as HOSA, Skills USA, and PBL. By participating in these organizations, students gain experience through competitive activities and networking with others in the field. Guest speakers are a resource for mentoring students and are critical to the college’s goal of assuring students of the value and benefits of career and technical training. From an employment standpoint, this exposure aids students in building a network of professionals to contact for possible job opportunities or career development. CTE faculty are strongly encouraged to consider participation in summer internships via consultations with their discipline related counterparts from business and industry.

Perkins funds will be used to provide two in-service professional development activities for fall 2007. One will be focused on the Millennial Generation. In addition to CTE faculty, academic faculty, counseling and developmental faculty, invitations will be extended to the members of the Technical Programs and Training Advisory Council whose membership includes local businessmen and women in the service area. The additional in-service activity will focus on assessment of CTE programs, ie. curriculum review, testing, aiding faculty in developing assessment based activities to ensure classroom learning outcomes and measurement systems.

The degree programs offered by the Technical Programs and Training Division are monitored closely in order to prepare associate degree and certificate students with the occupational skills necessary for success in the workplace. CTE faculty continually updates and strengthens technical programs through input from student evaluations, benchmarking of other institutions, and input from our advisory council members.

ANC is committed to providing career and technical education programs that prepare graduates for wage-earning occupations. A CIP code number in conjunction with a specific career pathway identify all CTE programs. In order to impact the greatest number of students, funds will target degree programs that serve the largest number of Perkins concentrators. For example, Nursing is the largest area of Perkins concentrators. For 07-08, the size, scope, and quality of the Nursing program will be expanded to include the LPN to RN Accelerated Option. Summer camps will target nontraditional students (females) in Criminal Justice and Horticulture. The scope and quality of CTE programs will be reviewed in order that competency-based curricula and instruction prepares CTE students for entry into the job market. In addition, programs will be reviewed to identify and adopt strategies to overcome barriers that result in decreasing rates of access and success for special populations.

ANC employs an institutional assessment process, including assessment of academic and CTE programs of study. Assessment of learning outcomes includes performance scores on a variety of internal and external tools, including NOCTI, OPAC, and ACAT. ANC also is exploring the integration of Key Train and/or Work Keys into its assessment methodology in the coming year.

Two Summer Camps targeting nontraditional students (females) are planned for the coming year, one each in the fields of criminal justice and horticulture. These camps will be open to girls between the ages of 14 and 18 and will involve hands-on, interactive activities designed to engender interest in careers in criminal justice and horticulture. The Camps also will inform and encourage students to take appropriate coursework at the secondary level to facilitate the transition to college for further study in these fields. Funds used for the camps will be used to pay instructor (camp facilitator) stipends, purchase expendable supplies for activities, and advertise the camps by way of newspaper advertisement and printed media distributed at the area schools.

Career guidance and academic counseling are provided to CTE students via the Office of Career and Job Placement. Students receive KUDER® career assessment assistance in order to interpret results and counsel students in developing a career path in the various technical programs leading to associate and baccalaureate degrees. The Placement Coordinator assists students with job preparation to include resume writing, job interviewing, and job prospecting. In addition, the coordinator networks with area employers to heighten the awareness of technical programs offered at ANC, maintains placement data on graduates, and organizes the annual ANC Job Fair held each spring. In 2006, 50 local employers had booths at the Job Fair and over 500 students attended. Regarding baccalaureate opportunities, ANC partners with several universities to offer baccalaureate and master degree programs on the ANC campus or online through the ANC University Center. Academic counseling services are available through the University Center and through the partnering universities.
The Virtual Career Center, a collaborative project between ANC and NWACC offers online access to skills assessment, career exploration, resume development, as well as employer access to post job vacancies.

The Technical Programs & Training division at ANC seeks to employ full-time and part-time instructors who possess practical experience in the fields that they seek to teach. Hiring preference is given to minority applicants, assuming all other substantial hiring factors are relatively equal. New instructors are assigned to work with experienced faculty partners who assist new faculty members with issues related to course development, delivery techniques, assessment methodologies, and other related issues.

Perkins data is and has always been captured for yearly reporting purposes through the POISE data system. The college’s institutional research staff works closely with the Perkins Coordinator to meet the requisite data standards as required by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. ANC will take the transition year to identify special populations subgroups as well as quantify gaps in performance between subgroups.