National Park College and Southern Arkansas University will announce a degree partnership on Wednesday that will bring bachelor's degrees to Hot Springs.
The announcement will be made during the NPC board of trustees meeting at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Frederick M. Dierks Center for Nursing and Health Sciences. A public announcement for students will be held at 12:30 p.m. in the NPC gymnasium.
Student Government Association President Tyler Draper, SAU President Trey Berry, and NPC President John Hogan will address the crowd. The events are free and open to the public.
NPC officials said earlier this week that this is not a merger between the two institutions, but rather a "strategic partnership."
Hogan told The Sentinel-Record Tuesday that NPC is responding to what the students and community have expressed a need for.
"We hear from the greater community about the need for bachelor's degrees," Hogan said. "We hear about the earning power of a bachelor's degree by comparison and we hear from our students who say they want those opportunities here. We've got the setting for it and the infrastructure for it, and in many cases, the faculty to facilitate that.
"SAU has been a willing strategic partner. We have a value set that's similar that drives toward student success and degree attainment."
Local on 02/23/2019