Arkansas Tech University is among nine public institutions of higher learning in the state that will benefit from a $1 million grant announced by Gov. Mike Beebe on Tuesday.
The grant is financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Dr. David Underwood, associate vice president for academic affairs at Arkansas Tech, said that the funds will be used to improve remedial education at two-year and four-year institutions in Arkansas.
“This grant will allow us to bring about significant change in remedial education,” said Underwood. “The goals of this effort are to improve remedial education and speed up the process of getting students through remediation. Arkansas Tech is proud to participate in this program as part of our ongoing commitment to produce more college graduates for our state.”
No new positions will be created by the grant, but the funds can be used to compensate graduate assistants and current faculty members who lend their talents to the program.
Thirty-three states submitted applications for the grant. Only 10 were selected, and Arkansas was one of only three unanimous selections. The grant is part of Complete College America’s Completion Innovation Challenge.
“Complete College America’s grant is well-timed to assist in our redoubled efforts to increase the number of college graduates in Arkansas,” said Gov. Beebe in a news release from his office. “It recognizes that continued hard work will improve our workforce readiness and increase economic development opportunities for our state.”
Other participating four-year institutions include Arkansas State University, the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and the University of Central Arkansas.
Two-year institutions Arkansas State University-Beebe, Arkansas Northeastern College, North Arkansas College and Southern Arkansas University-Tech are also involved in the program, which will be coordinated by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
Click here to read more about media coverage of the announcement.
]]>
