NWACC’s Retail Institute Seeks Heavenly Dividends

Patrice Whitley is among those who sometimes refer to Benton County as “Retail Mecca.”

Whitley also believes she knows the quickest way to retail enlightenment. That would be Northwest Arkansas Community College’s recently formed Retail Institute.

Formation of the Retail Institute was announced roughly two months ago by NWACC President Dr. Becky Paneitz, Whitley said, and brings the school’s retail management and marketing analyst programs together under a single umbrella. Both are “fast-track programs” designed to get students ready for the retail workplace within 18-24 months.

Whitley is the director of the retail management program, which is funded by the Wal-Mart Foundation and begins its third year this fall. The program is intended to provide students a two-year college degree in business management with a specialization in retail management.

There currently are 201 students enrolled in the program, which costs $281 per class for in-district students — those living in the Rogers or Bentonville school districts — and $320 per class for those out of district.

“There’s been a steady stream of success,” said Whitley, citing a 7 percent per-semester increase in enrollment since the program’s inception.

The marketing analyst program, in its eighth year, is a continuing education endeavor that readies its graduates for entry-level positions with vendors. It consists of six intensive courses costing less than $500 each.

“It’s specialized training, and it entails computer skills, learning the retail environment, things of that nature,” Whitley said. “It also teaches Retail Link, a computer program that is essential for wholesalers, suppliers, vendors – really anybody in the retail community.”

Whitley said both programs were established to help fill the need for jobs that became available when vendors began moving en masse to Northwest Arkansas.

“There was a shortage of people with the necessary skills to fulfill those jobs,” she said. “We wanted to fill that need with our students, and they’re meant to be fast-tracked.”

The local business community has responded in kind throughout the history of the programs, churning out what Whitley called “senior-level professionals” to help develop curriculum, keep students abreast of emerging trends, and even teach the courses.

Local businesses often are happy to reap the benefits of their investments, too. Whitley estimated as many as 75 percent of students enrolled in the two programs secure jobs before completing their course work.

“They’ve been wonderful,” Whitley said of area business leaders who participate in the programs. “It’s great to have them on board with us.”

The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services also has partnered with the Retail Institute, in hopes of helping some of those who have recently become unemployed. Financial assistance is available for both programs in such instances.

“It’s been great for people who need to be retooled,” Whitley said.

Regardless of students’ reasons for beginning a journey toward retail enlightenment, they soon will do so in rather divine digs. The 40,000-SF Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development is scheduled to open in Summer 2010.