BENTONVILLE -- An associate degree program Northwest Arkansas Community College is developing for people with cognitive disabilities will not begin this fall as officials planned.
The occupational and life skills program is scheduled to launch the fall semester of 2016. The decision was made last week.
Information sessions
Northwest Arkansas Community College will host an occupational and life skills program open house from 1-2 p.m. Aug. 10 in room 108 of the Student Center for those who are interested. Evelyn Jorgenson, college president; Karen O’Donohoe, program director; and Marci Muhelstein, occupational and life skills national director, will attend.
The college also will host information sessions at noon Aug. 17 and 6 p.m. Sept. 15. Send an email to ols@nwacc.edu to reserve a seat in either of the information sessions or the open house.
Source: Northwest Arkansas Community College
"There were some hopes we'd be able to start this fall with classes, but we decided it was too rushed," said Evelyn Jorgenson, college president, during a Board of Trustees meeting Saturday.
The four-year, 60-credit-hour program will give adults with cognitive disabilities the chance to learn social, technical and financial management skills they need to become good employees. They also will build a personal career pathway and complete an internship in that pathway, according to the college's website.
The program is modeled after one run by Bellevue College in Bellevue, Wash., for the past 15 years. It's the only program of its kind in the country. Lone Star College, near Houston, is starting an occupational and life skills program next month, also based on Bellevue College's model.
Northwest Arkansas Community College administrators began to explore Bellevue College's program more than a year ago. The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board gave the college its approval in January to move forward with the program.
The college hired Karen O'Donohoe to run the program. O'Donohoe, who had been assistant director of the college's Disability Resource Center for almost three years, began May 26.
"The college is 100 percent committed to launching the program next fall," O'Donohoe said. "It's not a question of whether or not we want to do it. It's about having the strongest program we can, because that benefits the students."
Cognitive disabilities cover a wide range of disabilities that affect mental functions. College officials have said there are more than 10,000 people between ages 18 and 64 living in Northwest Arkansas who have some kind of cognitive disability. Only about one-third of them are employed.
Katrina Lawson, school coordinator for the Northwest Arkansas Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, said the college's program will fill a huge need. Some people with cognitive disabilities may be able to perform in an office setting, but lack some of the social skills for the job, Lawson said.
"I have a couple of students who would be an ideal fit for this program, but we have this huge wave of kids coming with higher-functioning autism, kids 12 to 15 years old right now, and there's no where for them to go," Lawson said. "This program is a huge step in the right direction and will allow this population to have access to a college education."
Several factors caused the delay.
"The thing that started it all was I was hired just a little bit late, so that complicated the timeline," O'Donohoe said.
The college also is still working on renovating the space designated for the program on the third floor of the Center for Health Professions. That project is expected to be finished by December, according to Steven Hinds, director of public relations and marketing.
Officials also wanted more time to recruit students and to give interested families to prepare.
"While there were students and parents interested, because those parents had not seen their student as ever being eligible for college, they had not set aside the financial resources," Hinds said. "It takes a while just to go through the financial aid process."
The program will cost students $40,000 for the full four years. The tuition rate is more expensive than what the college usually charges because the program requires a lower student-to-teacher ratio than most programs.
The college had recruited four students who were ready to begin this fall before administrators decided to postpone it. Those four students are guaranteed admission into the first group. Each group will consist of between eight and 12 students, who will move through the program together, O'Donohoe said.
O'Donohoe said she's excited to have extra time to develop the program.
"We have such an interest for next year and with a year of recruiting and marketing, I think we'll have incredible turnout. I know we will have the students," she said.
Dave Perozek can be reached at dperozek@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWADaveP.
NW News on 07/30/2015