The University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville (UACCB) is enrolling more undergraduate students this fall than at any time in the past six years, with overall headcount at its highest point since 2019. Growth is across all student types, but the strongest gain is undergraduates. The college is also serving the largest number of high school students in its history, as Arkansas' ACCESS legislation has made free concurrent credit available to more students. Preliminary fall figures show a headcount of 1,408 and 11,702 credit hours — 18% above last year’s headcount and 22.9% in credit hours.
The official Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) census count includes only UACCB’s full 16-week term and Fall I (the first 8-week session). Fall II, which begins in October, is not part of that official report. When Fall II is included, UACCB’s total fall enrollment is 1,410 students taking 13,324 credit hours.
“We are committed to improving the lives of our students and being responsive to our community,” said Dr. Brian Shonk, chancellor, “By focusing on delivering the best educational experience and demonstrating a caring atmosphere daily, we have positioned ourselves for this growth.”
This year UACCB launched the new Farm and Ranch Management (FARM) program, a redesigned Industrial Maintenance program, an additional nursing cohort, and numerous university transfer partnerships – including the campus-within-a-campus model with University of Arkansas Monticello (UAM).
UACCB continues to partner with a variety of 4-year universities to provide a seamless transition to a bachelor’s degree. Programs like the UAM campus-within-a-campus, University of Arkansas Fort Smith’s Smart Choice, University of Arkansas Grantham’s 100% online degrees, and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Transfer Achievement Scholarship all build off the value UACCB provides. The UA Transfer Achievement Scholarship ensures students who have completed their associate degree at UACCB (or any University of Arkansas two-year college) get to maintain that tuition rate when moving to Fayetteville.
“Seeing enrollment this high is a great indicator of the direction UACCB is going,” said Dr. Zach Perrine, provost, “Our focus has been to provide relevant pathways for students that are affordable and lead to a good job. What sets us apart are the relationships our faculty and staff have with their students and the community. We thrive because of their success and support.”
UACCB has also added HyFlex course delivery, which allows students to choose their mode of participation on a session-by-session or week-by-week basis depending on their individual schedules, work shifts, or family needs. This added flexibility builds on UACCB’s longstanding efforts to make college fit students’ lives, including EveningU and other evening course options.
To further help students with the costs of going to college, UACCB has moved to Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) materials. This ensures students do not have to endure the rising costs of textbooks. Most course materials are Open Educational Resources (OER), classroom sets that can be checked out, codes from built-in course fees, or other accessible resources.
Retention and graduation rates at UACCB continue to be some of the highest in Arkansas for community colleges. The latest data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) shows UACCB with a 70% retention rate for full-time students, and a 61% retention rate for part-time students. The national average retention rate for full-time students is 65% and 46% for part-time students. The graduation rate at UACCB is 66%, with the national average being 34% to 37%. As recognition for this quality, UACCB was selected last year as a Top 200 Community College by the Aspen Institute.
“We are proud of our students for their academic achievements,” said Perrine, “they are the reason UACCB is a national leader in higher education.”
