ATU-Ozark, ACTC affiliation approved

The Arkansas Career Education Board approved on Thursday (Dec. 9) a merger between Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus and the Russellville Area Career and Technical Center (ACTC).

ATU-Ozark and the ACTC will begin in July 2011 to provide workforce training programs which lead to skill development and degree attainment. The ATU board of trustees and the Russellville school board approved the partnership plan in October that will allow ATU-Ozark to give college credit for technical instruction delivered to ACTC to surrounding school districts. Those districts Russellville, Dardanelle, Atkins, Pottsville, Lamar, Clarksville, Hector, Two Rivers, Western Yell, Dover and Danville.

“The Ozark Campus always seeks to provide access to higher education, and our merger with the Area Career and Technical Center will do just that.  Again, we are doing what we do best: putting students first,” Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, ATU-Ozark Chancellor noted in a statement.

ACTC is similar to the Western Arkansas Technical Center (WATC) operated by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. WATC works with area high schools in Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Scott and Sebastian counties.

Blondin said following the October announcement that the ATU-Ozark administration will be responsible for ACTC personnel, curriculum development, professional development and other fundamental roles. Two programs to emerge are industrial control systems and allied health programs (physical therapist assistant; paramedic; health information technology), Blondin said.

The merger is part of an “economic development vision identified by the Governor’s Task Force for the 21st Century Economy,” according to ATU-Ozark. The vision encourages high schools, universities and other learning centers to establish “a system for workforce training that allows students to enter the system while in high school and proceed, seamlessly, toward a proficiency in workforce training or a baccalaureate degree.”

“This merger with ATU Ozark is a wonderful opportunity for our students, schools, and communities. It will enable secondary and post secondary education the opportunity to work together to form a more direct route to a college degree and the workforce for our students,” said ACTC Director Patricia Edmunds.