Higher education costs discussed at forum at NWACC

BENTONVILLE -- A veteran lawmaker criticized Northwest Arkansas Community College's consideration of going into athletics during a forum held on the two-year college's campus.

The issue came up during a broader discussion of the increasing cost to students of higher education on state-run colleges and universities throughout Arkansas.

"It costs $20,000 a year to go to the UA," said Rep. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, referring to the University of Arkansas. And it takes students more than four years to graduate, Hendren said. Other lawmakers among the eight who attended the Saturday morning forum agreed that rising costs are a major state concern. The forum was sponsored by the Rogers/Lowell Chamber of Commerce and held at the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development in Bentonville.

Much of the problem is that higher education institutions are not focusing on core responsibilities, Hendren said. "I was there when we approved the start of this college and we promised a college without walls," Hendren said of NWACC. "That was not meant to include basketball, football and baseball."

The college was founded in 1989 and the legislation Hendren supported that allowed creation of the college is 10 years older than that. Both Ric Clifford, chairman of the college's board of trustees, and college president Evelyn Jorgenson were in the audience during the forum. Jorgenson replied to Hendren, saying that the steps taken by the college on athletics and other issues were for the good of the students and the institution and were not as ambitious as Hendren implied.

The college announced a survey this week to students to see if they had any interest in a sports program. Hendren said during the forum that NWACC would lose legislative support if they build "a football stadium or a Bud Walton area" for basketball. Jorgenson replied "that's not what we're doing" and also said the college had not raised tuition in years, unlike many other state schools.

Several members of the audience pointed out that NWACC receives less state taxpayer money per student than any other state college or university, and that state support of the University has not grown either over the years. Later Saturday, college spokesman Jim Hall sent out the latest report by the state Department of Higher Education that showed NWACC recieves less state money per full-time equivalent student than any college in the state: $2,188.

Asked if he would support more state money for state schools so the costs would not be passed on to students, Hendren replied that he would support that if schools were more accountable. "I'm an engineer. I believe you can't manage it if you can't measure it," Hendren said. "We don't even measure how many students are able to get a degree in four years." Adding two years to a four-year college career is a 50 percent increase in costs even if tuition had remained the same, Hendren said.

Arkansas college and university boards of trustees are largely independent under Amendment 33 to the state constitution. The problem of rising tuition has undermined support for Amendment 33 to the point that there is support in the Legislature to ask voters to repeal that amendment, said Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Gravette. The senator is the son of Rep. Hendren.

Earlier in the forum, representatives joked that they were glad to get a chance to talk since they outnumbered the senators there. Rep. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, added: "I don't know if there's much to say after two senators speak, but I know there's nothing left to say after two Hendrens do."

On other issues, all members present praised Gov. Asa Hutchinson's handling of the controversial issue of extending the state's private option health care plan, though not all said at this time that they will support it. Likewise, the governor's tax cut plan received support with some reservations.

"This is my fourth session and this is the most I've seen done in the first 10 days of any of them," said Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale.

Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, said he appreciated how Gov. Asa Hutchinson pointed out Thursday that private option is a relatively small part of the state's spending on medical care. He agreed with Hutchinson that greater emphasis was needed on reforming the bulk of the spending, Douglas said.

The governor proposes renewing the private option for two years and appointing a task for to recommend an overhaul of the state's health care spending. Rep. Grant Hodges, R-Rogers, is a freshman who said during his campaign that he did not support the private option. "I think the governor threaded the needled the best anybody could," Hodges said. "I'll need to take a little closer look, but what he proposes seems like a good compromise."

On the tax cut plan, both Hodges and fellow freshman Rep. Jana Della Rosa, also R-Rogers, had reservations about giving up a planned capital gains tax cut. Removing the $20 million reduction on capital gains taxes was part of a package approved by the Senate Budget Committee to make the governor's income tax cut package more affordable. Della Rosa said the capital gains cut, approved in the last legislative session, originated in the House and has more "ownership" there.

Rep. Sue Scott, R-Rogers, said she would introduce a bill to end licensing delays for returning U.S. servicemen. For instance, a welder who served in the military has to wait the same 18 months to go through education and certification that a new welder does, she said.

NW News on 01/25/2015

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