Hey y'all! Exile is coming to the UA Cossatot Amphitheater in De Queen this Saturday night and Country Girls Cafe has some tickets to give away! Be the first person to post the correct answer to our question today and you will receive a pair of free tix! And our question is....Exile charted ten #1 singles on the country charts from 1983-1987. But their first big hit was a number one pop song for four weeks in the fall of 1978. What was the title of Exile's first big hit?
Ashdown High School Senior Adaysia Thompson
Ashdown High School Senior Adaysia Thompson (center) is the recipient of the Sandra Calloway Memorial Scholarship sponsored by the Twin City Black History Association. Adaysia will be attending Henderson State University in the fall.
Congratulations to Ashdown 10th grade students
Lanyce Hemphill, Cole Sallade, Blair Gentry, Jacy Wake, Mekyia Marks. Missing: Whitlee Bearden
Back: Semaj Banks, Alex Hamby, Will Ford, Brayden Porter
Front: Lyndon Youngblood Rhys Parker, Anna Moss
Missing: Joshua Linnett and Cade Cobb
Front: Lee Isham, Liza Embry, Rayney Smith, Jayda Bryan, Chelbi Gathright, Chris Markle, Corbin Crownover
Back: Tristen McCandless, Dimiya Johnson, Kain McWhorter, Christian Reed, Kayla Imler
Congratulations to the Ashdown Spring semester’s 28 10th grade students that successfully demonstrated proficiency in personal finance by achieving a passing score on the nationally standardized Wise! Financial Literacy Certification test in Mrs. Tipton’s Financial Literacy Class. Subjects mastered include Money, Budgeting, The Cost of Money, Banking, Credit, Insurance, Investing, Retirement Planning, and Financial Planning and Management.
The W!se Financial Literacy Program is recognized by many states’ departments of education including Arkansas and has earned Wise numerous awards, including the U.S. Treasury Department’s John H. Sherman Award for Excellence in Financial Education.
The hallmark program feature is the W!se Certified Financially Literate™ (CFL™) credential awarded to students who pass the Test. The credential demonstrates to colleges and employers that students have the knowledge and skills to be financially savvy.
To become a Certified W!SE Instructor, you must pass a Certification Test for personal finance instructors to earn a Certification in Personal Finance.
This year 62 10th grade students passed the Certification Exam in the Fall and Spring Combined.
WEEKLY UPDATE FROM STATE REP DEANN VAUGHT:
In Arkansas, 41% of the population live in rural counties. In contrast, only 14% of the United States population as a whole live in nonmetropolitan counties. Our state is a very rural one, so when we work to expand our economy we must always recognize the challenges that our rural communities face.
That is why many of us and many of your city and county leaders gathered at the Arkansas Rural Development Conference this week.
This conference is organized by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and is designed for anyone interested in improving the quality of life in Arkansas’ rural communities.
The objective of the annual event is to provide participants with the opportunity to gain a working knowledge about a variety of programs and services that are available to assist communities and their leaders with development, planning and revitalization efforts.
The House and Senate Committees for Agriculture, Forestry, and Economic Development convened at the conference this week to hear updates on the Big River Steel plant in Osceola and CZ-USA, a firearms manufacturer which recently chose Little Rock as its headquarters.
The House and Senate Committees on City, County, and Local Affairs also convened at the conference. Those committees were given a review of the programs and grants offered by the AEDC Division of Rural Services.
At the conference, Gov. Asa Hutchinson presented grants totaling $586,633.14 to 49 cities and counties throughout Arkansas. Rural Services grants fall into one of three programs: the Rural Community Grant Program, the County Fair Building Grant Program, and the Arkansas Unpaved Roads Grant Program. All require a 50 percent matching grant to be eligible for the programs.
The conference also presented information from several women and minority business owners who have benefitted from the Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Division. This division promotes the growth of minority and women-owned businesses by providing them with real-world technical and professional assistance, certification, networking, capital and contracting opportunities while utilizing AEDC partners in state and federal government, higher education, lending institutions, and the private sector.
Only about 25 percent of small businesses in the state are owned by women, while the number of minority-owned businesses is even lower at around 14.7 percent.
Workforce development is another focus of the conference. AEDC has the ability to assist new and existing industry with the growth of their workforce through training programs.One such program is the Arkansas Career Readiness Certificate (CRC). The CRD is a portable credential that confirms to employers that an individual possesses basic workplace skills in reading for information, applied mathematics, and locating information. To date, the Arkansas Career Readiness Certificate program has qualified more than 59,000 high-skilled positions.
Rural communities are important to all of us as they are a primary source for food, energy, clean drinking water and accessible outdoor recreation. You can find out more on how we invest in these communities by visitingwww.arkansasedc.com
Summer Courses are Available at UA Cossatot
The spring 2019 semester at UA Cossatot has now closed, and summer classes are set to begin on June 3, 2019. UA Cossatot has many courses that are available for traditional and nontraditional students seeking to start, continue, or finish their education.
UA Cossatot’s summer classes can be taken in-class, online, during the day, during the evening, and at any of the four UA Cossatot campus locations to help accommodate students who may have demanding schedules or live and work in certain areas. The college also offers AV classes in which class can be taught at Ashdown, Nashville, and De Queen through an AV room at the same time with the same instructor. This type of teaching can help students save money and it makes classes more convenient and available.
UA Cossatot has four options for taking classes this summer. Students can choose to take 1) a 4-week course starting on June 3, 2) a 6-week class beginning on June 3, 3) a full 8-week summer term class beginning on June 3, or 4) a 4-week summer class starting on July 1. Classes beginning in June start on June 3 and classes beginning in July start on July 1. June 3 is the last day to register for courses starting on June 3, and June 28 is the last day to register for classes that begin on July 1.
The college will be offering business, history, math, English, Spanish, medical, criminal justice, education, management, physical education, and psychology classes this summer to name a few. Summer registration is now open and tuition at UA Cossatot this summer is $72 per hour.
Ashley Dougherty, Lynze Greathouse, and Mary Collom are three featured UA Cossatot instructors who will be teaching online classes this summer. Dougherty will be teaching Small Business Management,
Greathouse will be teaching College Algebra and Survey of Calculus, and Collom will be teaching Comp 1 and Comp 2.
Math instructor, Lynze Greathouse said, “Summer courses at UA Cossatot are a great opportunity for recent high school graduates, university students who are home for the summer, or anyone looking to pursue higher education. Our faculty are highly qualified and provide the same quality education that you would receive at a large university, but with smaller class sizes and more affordable costs.”
Fifty-one percent of UA Cossatot courses use open educational resources (OER) to teach, which means no cost for materials. The college is a member of the Open Textbook Network and strives to make classes more affordable to students. Some classes require textbooks, but UA Cossatot students only pay $30 per course for rentals. The college’s Educational Resource Center (ERC) handles all textbook and OER information. Students can check whether their class uses OER or requires a textbook at the ERC website www.youseemore.com/cccua.
To register for summer classes, please contact Student Services at 800-844-4471, or come by and visit with them. Walk-Ins are always welcome. UA Cossatot campus hours will be open this summer from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 7:30 AM to 11:30 PM on Friday.
UA Cossatot DACA Students Can Now Receive In-State Tuition
On April 10, 2019, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed two bills in support of DACA immigrants. House Bill 1552 grants nursing licenses to DACA students and House Bill 1684 grants in-state college tuition to those with DACA and other immigrant visas. This is a state law that will become effective starting on July 1, 2019.
These law changes will give DACA students the chance to receive a more affordable education, and help fill job demand throughout Arkansas.
Under ACT 844 of the 2019 Arkansas General Assembly, a student may be classified in-state for purposes of tuition and fees if the student satisfies one of the following requirements:
(a) The student personally holds or is the child of a person who holds a Federal Form I-766 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services-issued Employment Authorization Document, known popularly as a work permit;
(b) The student has verified that he or she is a resident legally present in Arkansas and has immigrated from the Republic of the Marshall Islands; or
(c)(i) The student's request for an exemption under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals has been approved by the United States Department of Homeland Security. (ii) The student's exemption shall not be expired, or shall have been renewed.
In addition, the student must satisfy one (1) of the following requirements:
(a) Resided in this state for at least three (3) years at the time the student applies for admission to a state-supported institution of higher education; and
(b) Either: (i) Graduated from a public or private high school in this state; or (ii) Received a high school equivalency diploma in this state.
Summer and fall enrollment at UA Cossatot is now available. In-state tuition at UA Cossatot costs $85.00 per credit hour, and if you live in UA Cossatot’s school district, which is Sevier, Howard, and Little River County, tuition cost per hour is $72.00. These prices for tuition are available for Arkansas residents and will be equally accessible for DACA students starting July 1, 2019.
UA Cossatot’s Chancellor, Dr. Steve Cole said, “We have been working on this tuition situation for almost ten years. Being the only Hispanic Serving Institution in Arkansas meant that a higher percentage of our students were negatively affected by high tuition rates. The state now allowing DACA students to pay in state tuition is a game changer for many families in our service area. I am especially proud that UA Cossatot students were the ones testifying for this change at the Capitol this year.”
Zulually Guerrero Mejia is a UA Cossatot alumni and has experienced difficulty in becoming a nurse in Arkansas. She was able to take nursing courses, but since she is a DACA student and not an Arkansas resident, she was unable to become a licensed nurse in the state.
Mejia was inspired to pursue a career in the medical field after spending much of her young life in and out of Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She shared her story at the state capital along with other DACA students, and said that the bill passing would allow her to work doing what she wants to do in the state she has always called home. With her testimony and cause to make a difference, and with the help of others in similar situations, she helped get this bill passed. Along with this issue, the dilemma of not being able to pay in-state tuition was also changed and signed by the governor on the same day.
UA Cossatot’s Student Success Center Coordinator, Erika Buenrrostro said, “Zulually is an exemplary leader and an outstanding student. What impresses me the most about her is her willingness to help those who are following in her footsteps. Her story helped change the history of Dreamers in Arkansas, and her courage to help others truly amazes me! She will be remembered always.”
Last year, UA Cossatot joined the Holistic Student Support Institute. The institute’s goal is to support every student in achieving their academic goals by overcoming educational barriers. Many students face obstacles that prevent them from graduating. To help students reach their career goals, UA Cossatot works with each student to assist them with a personal plan and strategy to achieve their desired degree or certificate.
For first-time students who would like to enroll in classes at UA Cossatot for the summer or fall, please contact Student Services at 800-844-4471, and walk-ins are always welcome.
To learn more about the Center for Student Success and how UA Cossatot can help students overcome academic barriers and basic needs while going to college, please e-mail Erika Buenrrostro at ebuenrrostro@cccua.edu.
De Queen Police Department
National Enforcement Mobilization Alert. The click it or ticket national seat belt enforcement mobilization is May 20th - June 2, 2019. In 2017 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 14,995 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts. Seat belts have been proven to be one of the best ways to save your life in a crash. Yet many still don't buckle up. Worse still, not wearing a seat belt is a habit that will pass on to impressionable youth, who in turn will think it's safe not to buckle up. The Click It or Ticket campaign focuses on safety education, strong laws and law enforcement officers saving lives.
Deadline to Apply for PTA Program
The deadline to apply for this year’s Physical Therapist Assistant Program at UA Cossatot is May 30, 2019. As UA Cossatot’s inaugural class of physical therapist assistant students plan to graduate this August, the college is currently accepting applications for the next cohort of the PTA program which will matriculate in August. Students who are interested in applying for the program can submit applications beginning December 1 of every year, with the deadline to apply being May 30. The PTA program takes one year to complete and is limited to sixteen students.
Before one can apply, students must take the required PTA pre-requisites. PTA pre-requisites are listed on the UA Cossatot PTA website and consist of twenty-nine credit hours. All pre-requisite course work must be completed with a minimum GPA of 2.75 and a minimum GPA of 3.0 for A&P I and A&P II.
The admissions procedure for the PTA Program is based on a point system. Those with a high percentage on the point system will be selected for an interview. Following the interview process, the top 16 students will be accepted into the PTA Program and begin PTA coursework in the fall.
The PTA Program faculty at UA Cossatot provides multiple avenues for learning including interactive lecture, hands-on skills practice, and rotation through clinical affiliations. UA Cossatot PTA student and President of the Student Physical Therapist Assistant Club, Jeanne Spain said, “I feel our instructors have been great at adapting to each of our individual learning styles. I tend to be a very hands-on learner, while some of my peers are more auditory and visual learners. It has been very beneficial to have them take note and adapt their teaching to our specific learning styles.” Advisory Council member and Clinical Instructor for UA
Cossatot, Rosalyn Henry, PT, DPT said, “I have had the privilege of being able to see how well UA Cossatot’s PTA students are prepared for clinical affiliations. The creation of UA Cossatot’s PTA program is backed by dedicated directors, advisors, and students, who work tirelessly to ensure the program is top notch and the students who go out into the community are well educated and prepared for the field of physical therapy.”
The Physical Therapist Assistant program is located on UA Cossatot’s Ashdown campus. To apply for the program before May 30, please select the online application link at www.cccua.edu/programs-of-study/medical-education. For questions regarding the application process, please e-mail PTA Program Director Jennifer Sanderson at jsanderson@cccua.edu or Director of Clinical Education, Heather Orr at hnorr@cccua.edu.
To learn more about course requirements and how one can get started as a PTA student at UA Cossatot, please visit www.cccua.edu/programs-of-study/medical-education to schedule an advising appointment with one of our academic advisors.
Candidate for Accreditation Status
Effective May 2, 2018, UA Cossatot has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). If needing to contact the program/institution directly, please call 870-584-1497 or email jsanderson@cccua.edu.
Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing toward accreditation and may matriculate students in technical/professional courses. Candidate for Accreditation is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation.
IMPLICATIONS OF AUGUST GRADUATION
The developing physical therapist assistant program at UA Cossatot is planning for a charter class graduation in August 2019. Initial accreditation decisions are acted upon at the next regularly scheduled Fall Meeting of the Commission following the on-site visit, which must occur during the penultimate term when the charter class is enrolled. CAPTE will not make exceptions to its Rules to accommodate graduation dates that precede regularly scheduled CAPTE meeting dates, e.g., graduation in the summer. A summer graduation does not allow the initial accreditation decision to occur prior to the graduation date. The Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT) sets the dates for licensing exams. The first sitting for which students with an August graduation date would be in January. Therefore, the timing of the planned graduation date increases the likelihood of a significant financial disadvantage for students due to an approximate six-month delay in possible employment as a physical therapist assistant. Jennifer Sanderson, PTA Program Director Kim Dickerson, Medical Education Division Chair
Contingency Plan
Should the Physical Therapist Assistant Program at UAC fail to receive accreditation, our institution will work diligently with students on a student-by-student basis. The Program Director will meet with each student and discuss options that best fit the student’s situation. We will first inform all students that UA Cossatot (UAC) will file an appeal for reconsideration of the CAPTE adverse decision. Next, we will work closely with the program at South Arkansas Community College in El Dorado (106 miles) to filter students to their program, if possible. The Program Director will also discuss the options of transferring to another institution, changing degree plans to OTA within the same institution, or graduating with a Certificate in Health Professions or Associate in General Studies.
Ashdown High School Students With Tutoring Certificates
Ashdown High School students were honored with their Basic Level Tutoring Certificate from the National Tutoring Association. The students have been tutoring math, English, and history to their peers. Ashlyn Harger was honored for volunteering her time of over 60 hours and seniors were presented their ropes to wear for graduation. AHS Math Teacher Ms. Ringgold has received special training in order to train the students.
These students volunteer their time assisting teachers and students in the subjects of mathematics, English, and science. During the process, students learn valuable and meaningful skills they can take with them to college and/or the workforce. In addition to building these skills, a host of other benefits come with being a member of the NTA.
AHS Senior Tutors (l-r) Tate Hooper, Mackenzie White, Colyn Grimes, Bradee McKean, Bralee Lansdell, Carson Jefferies, and Kaylee Silva
Not Pictured: Leah Lovell
Kabe Perry, Tate Hooper, La'Nyce Hemphill, Mackenzie White, Aniya Polite, Colyn Grimes, Ms. Ringgold, Bradee McKean, MacKynze Dollarhide, Bralee Lansdell, Rylee Burden, Carson Jefferies, Ashlyn Harger, Kaylee Silva, Noah Pounds, and Anthony Knudson
Not Pictured: Cole Smith
Continuing Education and Workforce Development Classes at UA Cossatot
Check out what Continuing Education has to offer this summer. Classes for small business, personal enrichment and professional development.
https://www.cccua.edu/Content/Uploads/cccua/files/ContinuingEd/Summer%202019.pdf
Little River Chamber Market Day at Tractor Supply
Tractor Supply in Ashdown AR is having a market day event this Saturday May 18, 2019. It will be held in the parking lot at TSC. This event is free to vendors to set up. You will need to contact John @ 870-898-3633 for information. This is a great way to get your business name out there and this will be a great fun event. Come out Saturday to TSC and see whats happening.
Jana
Director
Little River Chamber of Commerce
870-898-2758
UA Cossatot’s Student Services Department Attends Russellville Conference
UA Cossatot’s Student Services Department Attends Russellville Conference
On Friday, April 12, 2019, UA Cossatot’s Student Services department attended the Every Student Counts Conference in Russellville, Arkansas. The conference was hosted by Arkansas Tech, with support from NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) to provide a one day conference for employees who work in higher education. This conference gave Student Services the chance to brainstorm and think of creative ways to reach every current and potential student at UA Cossatot.
The conference focused on promising practices in the areas of student success, persistence, retention, and first-generation student excellence. The department split into different sessions giving them the chance to absorb as much as possible at the conference and then discuss everything as a group when it ended.
Presentations that were presented at the conference included Why Making Emotional Connections in Student Affairs Matters, Developing A New Model for Student Mental Health, and Understanding College Websites for Generation Z to name a few. Other topics at the conference dealt with understanding students in today’s world, and realizing the high number of factors and obstacles that students face when trying to attend college.
The Student Services department at UA Cossatot provides many helpful services to students at the college. The department staff members work in admissions and recruiting, they collect and enter student data, they help assist with campus events, and they advise students on academics. They also work with the Center for Student Success and other departments at UA Cossatot to help students achieve their educational goals. The Student Services department includes Director of Student Services, Suzanne Ward; Student Services Administrative Specialist, Gina Goss; Nashville Advisors, Rachel Barfield and Addison Hill; Ashdown Advisors, Sheila McCandless and Holly Norman; and De Queen Advisors, Jocelin Galvez and Lizz Garza.
Holly Norman started working in Student Services in April. Holly Norman said, “I’m so proud and thrilled to be a part of UA Cossatot’s Student Services department! I started working in my new role here at UA Cossatot just two days before the conference, and I had acquired only a glimpse of my new role. Jumping in and attending the conference with others from the department on day three really helped speed up the process of creating those work relationships, learning from others’ experiences, and grasping more of Student Services’ role and duties here at UA Cossatot.”
Student Services is a department at UA Cossatot where current and future students can seek help. To ask questions or learn about how you can get started at UA Cossatot, please e-mail studentservices@cccua.edu or call 800-844-4471.
Photo: (from left to right) first row: Rachel Barfield, Lizz Garza, and Addison Hill; second row: Jocelin Galvez, Gina Goss, Suzanne Ward, and Holly Norman; not pictured: Sheila McCandless
SW AR Beekeepers to Meet Tonight
This month’s meeting of the Southwest Arkansas Beekeepers Association is tonight and will include a presentation from Arkansas State Plant Board Apiary Inspector Daniel Plyler on “Hive Inspection – What the State Inspector Does and What He Looks For”. All meetings and programs of Southwest Arkansas Beekeepers are open to the public free of charge and are held at the U of A Cossatot Community College in Nashville. Sign-in will begin at 6:00 pm in Room 101 and the meeting and program will begin promptly at 6:30 pm.
U of A Fayetteville to Honor UA Cossatot Tuition Rates
The University of Arkansas – Fayetteville’s Chancellor, Dr. Joe Steinmetz has announced that the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville will now charge associate degree graduates from UA Cossatot the same tuition rates those graduates were charged at UA Cossatot. A transfer student from UA Cossatot can attend the University of Arkansas to take courses for their bachelor’s degree and receive the Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship. This annual award from the University of Arkansas will match UA Cossatot’s tuition amount, allowing students to achieve their bachelor’s degree at a more feasible rate.
The Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship is a scholarship that the University of Arkansas -Fayetteville provides for community college students. Arkansas residents who attend the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville, as a freshman, pay $246.12 per hour on tuition. UA Cossatot’s in-district tuition rate per hour is $72.00. This scholarship will allow students at UA Cossatot to spend $72.00 on tuition at UA Cossatot, and then continue to pay the same tuition rate of $72.00 at Fayetteville.
Chancellor Dr. Joe Steinmetz from the University of Arkansas said, “For many students, particularly ones starting out at two-year institutions, financial need is one of the bigger obstacles to attaining a bachelor’s degree. It is our responsibility as the state’s flagship and land grant university to reduce obstacles Arkansan’s face to earning a degree and improving the pathways to get there.”
To be eligible to receive an Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship, a graduate from UA Cossatot must:
• Be an Arkansas resident
• Earn a transferrable degree from UA Cossatot, which would be an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or an Associate of Arts in Teaching degree.
• Have a cumulative 2.0 grade point average
• Meet all other U of A admission criteria and program requirements
• Enroll in an on-campus undergraduate degree program (full-time or part-time) at the University of Arkansas
The Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship will be awarded to eligible transfer students in Arkansas. This scholarship is renewable for up to ten semesters with maintenance of good academic standing (2.00 cumulative GPA after each semester), and a scholarship application is not required for this award.
To learn more about this transfer scholarship or how one can make attending college more affordable by going to school at UA Cossatot, please contact Student Services at 800-844-4471 or email them at studentservices@cccua.edu
Summer Scholarship UA Cossatot
ARKANSAS TRANSFER ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIP TO UA FAYETTEVILLE
While the ink isn’t all the way dry on this yet, UA Fayetteville is now offering the Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship. Under the rules of this scholarship, if a student starts their education at UA Cossatot and is paying $74 per credit hour, if they graduate from here with an Associate degree, if they transfer to UA Fayetteville, they will be paying only $74 per credit hour! Here is a link that tells a little more. https://scholarships.uark.edu/transfer-scholarshi…/index.php
Belleville Cemetery Association 74th Annual Homecoming Celebration
The Belleville Cemetery Association will be having their 74th Annual Homecoming Celebration at 10:45 AM on Sunday, June 2nd at the historic Belleville Church located two miles south of Lockesburg on highway 317. Anyone is welcome to attend the Belleville Homecoming, and those that do come are encouraged to being a covered dish and a lawn chair to take part in the Homecoming Pot Luck that will follow the services.
WEEKLY UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DEANN VAUGHT
For students just beginning an education or going back to school, the lottery scholarship offers opportunities to pursue dream careers and secure financial futures.
That’s why you should mark July 1 on your calendar. That day is the deadline to apply for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship, which has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds to help in the pursuit of higher education.
The Academic Challenge Scholarship is largely funded by the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery and provides tuition assistance to students at every state university and two-year college – both public and private. Applicants can be recent high school graduates, students already enrolled in school or non-traditional students at any stage in life. Additionally, the scholarship can be combined with other financial aid programs, such as the ArFuture Grant.
This fall marks the 10-year anniversary of the Lottery. In that time, 542,307 in-state scholarships worth more than $965 million have been awarded to students seeking both four-year and two-year degrees.
Funds are awarded for the Academic Challenge Scholarship based on a system that incentivizes student success. Individuals enrolled in four-year institutions can receive $1,000 for the first year. Those who continue in school and meet eligibility criteria are rewarded with $4,000 for both sophomore and junior years and $5,000 for senior year. At two-year institutions, students receive $1,000 for the first year and $3,000 for the second.
To be eligible for an Academic Challenge Scholarship, traditional students must have a minimum ACT score of 19 and be in pursuit of a baccalaureate degree, associate degree, qualified certificate or nursing school diploma. Non-traditional students need either a 19 on the ACT or a 2.5-grade point average (GPA) from the last education received. To maintain eligibility, students must keep a 2.5 GPA, take 30 hours each year and be an Arkansas resident for 12 months prior to enrollment.
Lottery proceeds also fund workforce training opportunities through the Arkansas Workforce Challenge Scholarship. This program pays for tuition and fees up to $800 per eligible program for high-demand occupations in healthcare, information technology and industry. Examples include dental assistants, aircraft mechanics, and computer programmers. Students must apply at least 30 days prior to enrollment in an eligible program.
During the recent legislative session, a law was passed to allow excess lottery proceeds to fund concurrent credit scholarships for high school juniors and seniors seeking college credit. Act 465, the Arkansas Concurrent Challenge Scholarship, will be available in January 2020 and applications must be made through the student’s public high school.
Applications for lottery-funded scholarships can be found at the Arkansas Department of Higher Education’s website at scholarships.adhe.edu. There you can fill out the Department’s YOUniversal application to determine eligibility for all of the state’s scholarship programs. Students can also download the YOUniversal financial aid app and apply directly from a smartphone.
UA Cossatot Celebrates Hispanic Night
The fifth annual UA Cossatot ceremony for Hispanic Night took place at UA Cossatot’s De Queen Campus on April 25, 2019. The event started at 6:00 PM and over sixty people were in attendance. Nominees and awards were announced and given to outstanding Hispanics, La Media Luna catered the event, and UA Cossatot staff presented information about academic opportunities at UA Cossatot.
Sinai Trejo, Zulually Guerrero Mejia, Laura Salas, Arlene Padilla, Eruby Rodriguez, Beatriz Alvarez, Belen Gueverra Hernandez, Alejandro Hernandez, and Angelica Padilla were all picked as nominees for Hispanic Night. Four awards were given out at the event. Award winners include Outstanding High School Student: Belen Guevara Hernandez, Outstanding UA Cossatot Adult Education Student: Laura Salas, Outstanding UA Cossatot Student: Beatriz Alvarez, and Outstanding Community Member: Zullualy Guerrero Mejia. Doris Gutierez was the guest speaker at Hispanic Night. She spoke about her educational experience, and how she was able to overcome obstacles to pursue a career she enjoys.
Hispanic Night is an event and a ceremony to encourage, honor, and recognize hardworking Hispanics who are reaching educational goals and making an impact in the community. This event is an annual occasion that gives people the chance to learn about UA Cossatot and the opportunities that it offers. UA Cossatot staff members were present at Hispanic Night to discuss financial aid and services the UA Cossatot Center for Student Success provides to its students. The college’s Student Services department provided information about the admissions process and how one can start their education at UA Cossatot. Student Ambassadors from UA Cossatot were also present to talk about the benefits of being an ambassador at the college.
Student Diversity Association (SDA) is a UA Cossatot student organization that helps promote diversity, unity, and overall well-being. It is an organization that allows students to come together who may face more obstacles due to language barriers or cultural backgrounds. SDA sponsors promoted this organization at Hispanic Night to show that students of all cultures and races are encouraged and supported at UA Cossatot.
To learn more about the Student Diversity Association or how one can get started at UA Cossatot, please call Student Services at 800-844-4471 or come by the De Queen, Nashville, or Ashdown campus to speak with an Admissions and Recruitment Specialist. UA Cossatot’s campus hours are open 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday
Ashdown School District Employees Honored
Nine employees of the Ashdown School District, were honored at a reception in the Ashdown Administration Building on Monday, May 6. The reception was sponsored by an Ashdown retired teachers group and the Local Delta Kappa Gamma Sorority. Ruby Lee Rosenbaum, Ann Hopkins, Sandra Camp, Roy Burton, Barbara Hunter, Carmen Sansom, David Wilson, Lynda Cunningham, and Lynda King were presented engraved plaques by Superintendent Casey Nichols and congratulated by dozens of attendees.
(l-r) front row: Ruby Lee Rosenbaum, Annie Hopkins, Sandra Camp, and Roy Burton
back row: Superintendent Casey Nichols, Barbara Hunter, Carmen Sansom, and David Wilson
Not Pictured: Lynda Cunningham and Lynda King