Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas 183 Hwy 399 | PO Box 960 De Queen, AR 71832 870.584.4471

CCCUA Fall Enrollment Up 12% Over 2002
Release Date: 10 SEP 2003

DE QUEEN – Kristin Bowden, Vice Chancellor of Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas, announced today that the College’s fall enrollment has set another record. As of the eleventh class day, the College’s enrollment stood at 1,062, which is the official enrollment reported to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. The fall 2003 count represents an increase of 117 students, or 12.3%, over fall 2002.

Bowden credited the increase to several factors, including the downturn in the economy and especially the growing wave of electronic learning. “More than 50% of our students are taking at least one Internet class this term. We have online students in Hawaii, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Dakota, which covers quite a lot of territory,” she said.

She added that more people are realizing that steady jobs with good pay can no longer be had without some education or advanced vocational training beyond high school or a GED. “The Commerce Department states that ninety-nine percent of all new jobs that were created in the last ten years required advanced vocational training or a college degree,” she said. “We also believe the word is getting out about two-year colleges, that Arkansas is catching up to where community colleges in other states were in the 60’s and 70’s, because almost all the two-year schools here are seeing enrollment gains. People know they get much more individualized attention here, in-class and online, at a much lower cost, sometimes two-thirds less.”

Bowden also reported that students attending CCCUA show extremely high levels of satisfaction with the quality of interaction between themselves and the faculty and staff. “In January, we submitted our latest self-study report to the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association (HLC-NCA) for re-accreditation, and are very pleased to report the results of our student surveys.” Each fall, CCCUA conducts student satisfaction surveys. A random sample of students from all three campuses indicates that overall satisfaction has increased in the last two years. CCCUA was notified over the summer that it had received accreditation for the next ten years from HLC-NCA, the maximum time granted by the accrediting body.

Students are also asked to evaluate their instructors and the courses they take each semester. These evaluations, usually administered during the last three weeks of each semester, are tabulated and returned to faculty by mid-term the following semester. The range is from 1-5, with 5 being the highest. The average has consistently been over 4.0 for the last four semesters. “Student satisfaction is what it all boils down to,” Bowden said. “If they aren’t satisfied with how they’re being treated and taught, they aren’t learning, and they’ll go elsewhere. We are very cognizant of that, and want to make sure that every student gets the kind of attention they need to have the best possible college experience.”

CCCUA is supported in Sevier and Howard Counties by a ¼-cent sales tax. This local support comprises approximately 10% of the College’s total operating budget. These taxes have enabled the addition of programs in Business/Agriculture and Child Care, and plans for the construction of a new 35,000 square-foot extension site at Nashville. Currently, the College has almost $2 million in grants from various sources. “Our faculty and staff are great about going after grants, which is why the state budget cutbacks haven’t hurt our staffing or programs like they have other institutions,” Bowden said.

Cossatot Community College offers both technical certification and Associate’s degrees in a wide range of fields on its campus at De Queen, at extension sites at Nashville and Ashdown, and at cccua.edu. It has an enrollment of over 1,000 students, and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Higher Learning.

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