Imagine how many adults there are across our Arkansas today who began college years ago only to drop out for myriad reasons. I suspect there are thousands who accumulated anywhere from a few to dozens of credit hours toward an anticipated degree.
And now, because of support from the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, these folks will have a pathway toward perhaps completing the journey they started years ago-and without ever leaving their homes.
Hey, I can relate. I dropped out of the University of New Mexico during Vietnam but returned to classrooms at the University of Central Arkansas two years later to finally complete a bachelor’s degree by carrying 21 hours supported by two jobs and a student loan during my final semester. That exhausting effort thankfully is long-gone from life’s rear-view mirror. But the final three hours I needed to graduate were by correspondence since I’d taken an editor’s job in Newport.
But I remain just as pleased that I chose to bring a proper closure to the investment in higher education.
The trustees voted the other day to support a new online U of A “eVersity” for older, nontraditional students who have jobs, children and maybe even grandchildren, but also a desire to finish what they may have started a long while back.
Although tuition costs are yet to be established, the officials say they will do everything possible to keep it affordable while offering “career-relevant” courses that will run for only six weeks rather than an entire semester.
The program gets its kick start through $2 million that Gov. Mike Beebe already has approved, plus another $1 million from the university’s administrative system. Granted, it’s not a bundle. But every baby has its first step, right?
It’s estimated that eVersity will require about $10 million in the coming three years to reach capacity, then rely solely on tuition it generates. In other words, its leaders won’t be seeking state funds once the program is up and running.
The most beneficial aspect of the new idea for me is that it promises to enable many Arkansans to achieve the goal of earning a college degree, having been sidetracked before it could happen. Should that describe you, I’ll be first in line to offer encouragement.
If this concept means the university has discovered a viable way to help any Arkansan cross that finish line, then it’s well worth pursuing, especially if it becomes as self-sustaining as promised.
Waiting for answers
Still no answers to the handful of relevant questions about the hog factory I posed to gubernatorial hopefuls two weeks ago. Hey, what’s to fear here, fellas?
I’m encouraging all who attend the candidates’ stump speeches to ask these questions for yourselves. Since the Buffalo National River belongs to all of us, I believe we have an obligation to ask where each public-servant wannabe stands on behalf of this precious stream, don’t you?
Here are those questions yet again: What legislation would you support to protect our land and rivers in karst areas of north Arkansas from factory hog farms? What’s your position on the role of the Pollution Control and Ecology Commission, the Department of Environmental Quality and the governor’s office when it comes to protecting Arkansas’ ground and surface waters from agricultural pollution? Which is more important to you, protecting the business of C&H Hog Farms and interests of Cargill Inc., or the tourism business of the Buffalo River? If elected, what would you do, specifically, to resolve this issue of the hog factory versus the pollution of the Buffalo River from hog waste? Would you direct the Department of Environmental Quality to reinstate the moratorium on factory hog farms in karst regions? Would you appoint members to the ecology commission with ties to the agriculture industry or members with a more scientific/environmental background? If or when more factory hog farms apply for permits in karst areas, will you support them?
Every Arkansan should know what to expect from our state’s leaders when situations arise that threaten the long-term health of our increasingly rare clean water resources, tourism businesses and our proclaimed image as “The Natural State.” Observer’s view
The following (edited) assessment comes from a reliable observer who attended the state’s Department of Environmental Quality permit-revision public hearing in Jasper last week about the closing remarks made by the Pork Producers’ lobbyist:
“It seemed the implication was those who commented against the C&H hog factory that he didn’t agree with weren’t as God-fearing as the factory’s owners and therefore relatively worthless. He gave no credit to the hundreds of thousands of hours that people have volunteered in order to do something about this pig farm. He was being paid to be there because he’s also a professional lobbyist who takes money to take a side. ADEQ’s Director Teresa Marks had asked everyone to restrict their comments to the relevant application [of hog waste]. The lobbyist’s comments were strictly emotional garbage in my opinion.” Makes me wanna squeal!
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Mike Masterson’s column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Email him at mikemasterson10@hotmail.com. Read his blog at mikemastersonsmessenger.com.
Editorial, Pages 85 on 03/30/2014