Education Group Welcomes UAFS as Newest Member

Apr 26, 2013 in Chamber News!

The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith announced on April 23 that it accepted an invitation to join the Northwest Arkansas Education Consortium, a year-old organization focused on improving college graduation and retention rates.

UAFS becomes the sixth higher education institution working through the consortium to support Graduate NWA (www.GraduateNWA.com), a program and website focused on helping Arkansas residents with some academic credit finish college degrees. The consortium has other objectives such as improving student retention.

Other members of the Northwest Arkansas Education Consortium (NAEC), which organized in January 2012, are John Brown University in Siloam Springs, NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale, the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences-Northwest in Fayetteville.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the three largest counties in Western Arkansas (Benton, Sebastian and Washington) have 73,697 people (25 or over) with college credit and no degree.

Graduate NWA started in September 2012 to connect potential students with college and university employees who can answer questions about such things as which classes are needed to complete degrees; how to go about handling family, work and classroom responsibilities; and how to apply for scholarships and other financial assistance.

“It is critical that we reach across our traditional boundaries and welcome partners such as UAFS to extend our impact even further,” said Reed Greenwood, a University of Arkansas professor who serves as the consortium’s director and secretary.

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