Texarkana's UA community college campus adding $3.85 million center

The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana will break ground on a $3.85 million building at the Texarkana campus on Oct. 7 that will meet a variety of student needs.

The new 14,754-square-foot building will include housing for a welding program, the Secondary Career and Technical Education Center and the Arkansas High Collegiate Academy.

"There's untapped potential here in Texarkana," Chancellor Christine Holt said in a recent interview. "I think we are in a wonderful place in time to really be able to move forward and become a paragon of excellence -- not just here in the state, but nationally -- and particularly for other rural community colleges."

A significant portion of the new facility will be dedicated to career and technical programs, including the college's Secondary Career and Technical Education Center. The career center provides participating high school juniors and seniors with the opportunity to earn college credit at no charge while still in high school.

The curriculum serves as an extension of the high school curriculum by providing students with hands-on experiences in various career fields, including industrial maintenance, welding, coding, certified nursing assistants and emergency medical technicians.

Holt said in a news release that the community college wants to help its secondary school partners prepare students for life after high school.

"The secondary career center is one of the great programs we offer that help students get a head start in college or provide them with a credential to go to work in a quality career field straight out of high school," she said. "The new facility will also allow room for the expansion of other general education courses. We want to provide quality degrees and certificates to students of all ages and help our business and industry partners offer training to their employees to help build a better workforce."

Along with the career center, the new facility will house the Arkansas High School Collegiate Academy. The academy is a partnership with Arkansas High School in Texarkana that allows students an opportunity to earn high school diplomas and associate degrees simultaneously.

The program consists of high school sophomores, juniors and seniors enrolled in dual-credit courses on the UA Texarkana campus.

The first Arkansas High Collegiate Academy class graduated last year, and these students received their high school diplomas and associate degrees 100% debt-free.

This year the academy has its largest group of sophomores since the program began in 2019.

"One of the primary concerns I hear from employers is finding talent," Holt said. "And to find talent, we need to make sure they're prepared and equipped. So I think we can be beneficial to the region, both in Texarkana, Hope and the surrounding regions, in helping to prepare the workforce."

UA Hope-Texarkana has 1,220 students -- 896 at the Hope campus and 324 at the Texarkana campus, according to preliminary fall enrollment figures.

The public can attend the ceremony on Oct. 7 at 3:30 p.m. at 3501 U of A Way, Texarkana. Additional parking will be available at Four States Fairgrounds, with shuttle services provided.

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