Division of Arts and Sciences Program Review
Introduction
The Division of Arts and Science is one of four academic units at Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA). Instruction for all students, regardless of major, in the areas of education, English, history, humanities, mathematics, psychology science, sociology, and speech are provided through this division. The Division provides university-parallel courses of high academic quality on the freshman and sophomore level for students who wish (1) to transfer to four-year colleges or universities, (2) to gain competences in employable skills which allow them to enter directly into the workforce or (3) to upgrade their skills to move into another level of employment.
College History
In 1964, leaders from all parts of Arkansas became enthusiastic about the public community college concept and undertook the difficult task of amending the state’s constitution to permit the development of a system of community colleges in Arkansas.
The official history of Phillips County Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA) dates from two events in 1965: (1) Act 560 of the Arkansas State Legislature, which paved the way for establishing community colleges; and (2) an affirmative vote by the people of Phillips County on October 23, 1965, which provided the local financial support for the college.
The Board of Trustees was appointed by the Governor of the State and met for the first time on November 1, 1965, officially creating Phillips County Community College. An early order of business for the Board was the election of Dr. John Easley as the first President of the College. The assembly of a faculty and staff was completed, and the new college was ready to open its doors in temporary quarters by September, 1966. The Board of Trustees decided that since construction of a new plant would take approximately two years, classes would begin in the Naval Reserve Building in Helena. The building served as home for Phillips County Community College for two years. In May, 1968, the first class graduated. Construction of the permanent College facilities was also completed in 1968, and school opened in September of that year on the present campus.
During Dr. Easley's presidency, enrollment at the college grew, as did the physical plant. In 1972, the Fine Arts Center and Lily Peter Auditorium were completed with the help of generous support from the community. In 1976, the Nursing Education Complex was completed. In 1982, the Technical & Industrial Education Complex was opened. In 1986, the Administration/Data Processing Building was completed, and a year later, the college library was renovated and named the Lewis Library, thanks to the generosity of the A. B. Lewis family.
In 1988, Dr. Easley retired and the administration building was renamed in his honor. Dr. Steven W. Jones was elected by the Board of Trustees to be the college's second president on March 8, 1988.
Since that time, the college has experienced dramatic growth with an expansion of the curriculum and facilities. Enrollment increased steadily in the early 1990's, and the Asa W. Bonner Student Center was dedicated in 1991. The Mitchell Science Annex was added to the Nursing Education Complex in 1992. In 1993, the College was given the historic Pillow- Thompson House in Helena by Josephine Thompson and her son, George de Man. The house was renovated with the generous support of community donations and historic preservation grants and reopened in May of 1997.
In March 1996, the people of Arkansas County passed a referendum to annex that county into the PCCC taxing district. The Board of Trustees changed the name of the college to Phillips Community College to reflect the multi-county support and began plans to expand the off- campus programs in Stuttgart. In June 1996, the State transferred the former Rice Belt Technical Institute in DeWitt to Phillips Community College and on July 1, 1996, Phillips became a member of the University of Arkansas System. PCCUA now has three campuses in DeWitt, Helena, and Stuttgart.
Phillips Community College has always been a leader and innovator in higher education in Arkansas. The College has grown from an original enrollment of fewer than 250 students in 14 program areas to over 2,400 students in academic, occupational/technical, and continuing education programs. New programs are continually being researched and planned so that PCCUA will remain responsive to the needs and interests of the people of Eastern Arkansas. In the Fall of 2003, Dr. Steven Murray was named Chancellor of Phillips Community College. Dr. Murray is the college's third chancellor.
College Mission
Phillips Community College consists of three campuses located in Helena, DeWitt, and Stuttgart, Arkansas. The main campus is located in Helena, Arkansas, and the school serves the needs of Eastern Arkansas. According to the mission statement:
Phillips Community College is a multi-campus, two-year college serving the communities of Eastern Arkansas. The college is committed to helping every student succeed. We provide high-quality, accessible educational opportunities and skills development to promote life-long learning, and we engage in the lives of our students and our communities.
Goals Objectives and Activities
Division Mission and Goals/Core Competencies
The Division of Arts and Sciences shares the College’s fundamental mission. The mission of the Division of Arts and Sciences is to provide the foundational needs in general education to all students and the first two years of specialized knowledge in areas that lead to advanced degrees and professional careers. The general goals or core competencies of the division are listed below:
Goal 1: Students will be able to communicate effectively in a written and oral manner.
Goal 2: Students will demonstrate knowledge of history, art, literature and other cultures.
Goal 3: Students will demonstrate mathematical knowledge and skills.
Goal 4: Students will demonstrate skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and scientific
reasoning.
Goal 5: Students will be able to demonstrate technological knowledge and skills.
The division of Arts and Sciences administers the Associate of Arts and the Associate of Science degrees. Prior to 2011, it also administered an Associate of Studies but that degree option has been discontinued (See Appendix A: Arts and Sciences Program). The objectives of each department within the Division of Arts and Sciences are numerous and can be found in Appendix B: Division of Arts and Sciences Assessment.
Curriculum
PCCUA ensures that it provides education in line with the best recognized practices in higher education in a variety of ways. The College works with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) through systematic curriculum and course reviews. For example, the Arkansas Course Transfer System (ACTS) is used by institutions of higher education in the state of Arkansas to insure courses that transfer between institutions are parallel and are of the same quality. Most of the courses in the Division of Arts and Sciences fall under the ACTS umbrella and are subject to an ACTS review.
ACTS, developed as a result of state legislation, utilizes faculty from institutions across Arkansas to determine the standards a course must meet for transfer between the state’s institutions of higher learning. These standards, developed by faculty from both four-year and two-year institutions, rely upon the standard practices (goals, objectives, activities) in the various academic fields. Since the courses in this division have to meet ACTS standards, this review process provides a good foundation to insure that PCCUA is relying upon recognized best practices of instruction in the various courses and areas.
PCCUA also supports and encourages faculty to attend conferences in related teaching areas to insure that instructors are acquainted with the developing changes within their various fields. Through general budget funds, designated monies, and grants, faculty members are afforded vast opportunities to enrich their knowledge and improve their instruction. A listing of conferences attended by the faculty in this division is included in this document for review.
PCCUA has also made available training that is specifically beneficial to community college faculty. Notable in this area of professional development is the opportunity for every faculty member to attend the annual meeting of the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges. This conference provides invaluable training in a wide variety of areas affecting community college instruction. Faculty members benefit from discussions of the latest practices being used successfully in the community college environment.
Finally, PCCUA provides ongoing, cutting-edge, professional development on campus for faculty members. Issues of particular emphasis have been strategies that can be utilized to close the achievement gap between racial groups, strategies that can be used to increase retention, and success of all students, and students from at-risk backgrounds. As it relates to poverty and class, all PCCUA employees were provided with a copy of the book Bridges Out of Poverty. A series of conversations on poverty, class, and race were conducted on all three college campuses. The intense discussions that occurred in these conversations provided beneficial training for faculty on the issues faced by those in poverty. Many of these issues can affect a student’s ability to complete coursework in the framework and manner often required by institutions and instructors. It was an eye opening experience when we realized that most college’s employees are middle class and have very little knowledge of the experiences and values of the lower and upper classes.
The College used the novelsThem by Nathan McCall and Carson McCuller’s The Heart is the Lonely Hunter to further tackle issues and unique obstacles faced by minority students and what puts them at-risk in a college setting. In a similar format to the Bridges Out of Poverty conversation, the college undertook a series of discussions on the novel Them. The goal of these discussions was to help faculty and staff understand thoughts, values, and obstacles faced by students of color. The basis of the discussions were to encourage faculty and staff reflection and understanding about race, religion, disability, and other aspects of the “different.” PCCUA is mainly bi-racial in population: African American and White. Table 1 compares and highlights the performance of students from the different racial groups in developmental classes. Decreasing the gap between whites and students of color was one of the priorities of our Achieving the Dream Initiative (ATD).
Another book in the common reader professional development series was Understanding and Engaging Under-Resourced College Students by Karen Becker, Karla Krodel and Bethanie Tucker. As with the previous two books, the college conducted a series of discussions on each campus over the course of an academic year. This book built on the previous common readers by providing a focus on the needs of under-resourced students in the higher education setting. Faculty and staff were able to dovetail the knowledge gained from the previous two readers to specific strategies to support students at PCCUA. In conjunction with work on Achieving the Dream (ATD) priorities, this book provided a foundation for implementation of strategies to better serve the needs of PCCUA students.
Table 1
Success of Students in Developmental Classes
Compared by Race
2004-2006 Cohorts / 2008-2011 CohortsCourse / African-American / White / Other / African-American / White / Other
Developmental Reading
DS 103 / 45% / 60% / 60% / 60% / 72% / 60%
DS 123 / One level of Reading / 77% / 78% / N/A
Developmental Writing
EH 1013 / 59% / 63% / 60% / 65% / 69% / 100%
EH 1023 / 65% / 76% / 73% / 76% / 87% / N/A
Developmental Math
MS 1013 / 51% / 72% / 55% / 49% / 70% / 60%
MS 1023 / 43% / 66% / 90% / 49% / 70% / 60%
MS 1123 / 45% / 53% / 50% / 51% / 83% / 80%
PCCUA has, largely through its ATD Initiative, provided substantial training for faculty in curriculum analysis and revision. A complete redesign of the way remedial instruction is delivered to our students was among the changes implemented as a result of this professional development. Increased student retention and success in developmental education led to PCCUA being designated as a Leader College by Achieving the Dream and the Lumina Foundation(See Appendix C: Special Recognition).
PCCUA has also provided substantial training in alternative and innovative instructional methods to its faculty, including those in the Division of Arts and Sciences. For instance, intensive professional development sessions have been provided on cooperative learning strategies. These new strategies have enhanced many of the previously lecture-based courses, enabling students with various learning styles to achieve at higher levels.
The college has also been a leader in encouraging the use of technology in its instruction. Numerous faculty members are teaching online and developing hybrid courses using Blackboard, the college’s online portal. PCCUA has equipped a percentage of the classroom with SmartBoards. PCCUA has also invested substantially in computer equipment so that faculty members have access to an increasing number of computer labs with a wide variety of software to aid and supplement instruction.
Finally, the college is currently reviewing much of its English and Math curriculum as part of the PACE Grant initiative to make sure that students expeditiously complete developmental courses and transition to the transfer courses. This review is ongoing.
Programs Under Review
The division offers four associate degrees. Three of these degrees are designed for transfer students. This program review covers the following three transfer degrees:
Associate of Arts Degree (AA)
The Associate of Arts Degree is designed for students who plan to transfer to a four-year institution to earn a baccalaureate degree in English, fine arts, history, political science, social sciences or related areas. The AA is comprised of several degrees such as General Education, Early Childhood, Education, English, Speech, Forestry/Wildlife Management, Law and Social Science, Music, Physical Education, and Political Science/Public Administration.
Associate of Science Degree (AS)
The Associate of Science Degree (AS), (formally known as the Associate of Liberal Studies (ALS) degree) is designed for students who plan to transfer to a four-year institution to earn a baccalaureate degree in the natural sciences, mathematics, pre-engineering, pre-pharmacy, pre-medicine or a related area. The emphasis of this degree is on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) areas. The AS is designed to insure a seamless transfer of students into parallel university programs. Degree programs in the AS include: Biology, Mathematics, Physics, Pre-Engineering, and Spatial Information Systems.
Associate of Arts in Teaching Degree (AAT)
The Associate of Arts in Teaching degree parallels the AA in education; however, students earning an AAT must successfully complete all areas of the Praxis I before a degree is awarded. The AAT is designed for students majoring in Early Childhood or Middle Level Education. This degree is recognized by all higher education institutions in Arkansas and is designed for the seamless movement of childhood education majors into education programs all over the State of Arkansas. Students who receive this degree must complete the required course work and successfully complete all areas of the PRAXIS I (PPST). Three-degree options comprise the AAT. Students that earn an AAT with pick one of the following degree programs: Teaching Middle School Mathematics and Science, Teaching Middle School Language Arts/Social Studies, and Early Childhood Education.
Appendix A shows the curriculum for the Division of Arts and Sciences. The charts show each program, the courses that comprise them, and the course sequences students must take the courses are shown as well.
Table 2 shows the current minimum course requirements for the three associate degrees. The total minimum semester hours required forgraduation is 64. The State of Arkansas and Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) have mandated that effective Fall 2012, all associate degrees should be 60 hours in length. To meet this mandate, effective Fall 2012, only one hour of physical education and three less hours of electives will be required in the AA, AS and AAT degrees. Table 2A reflects a change in form for PCCUA policy and procedures.
Table 2: Minimum Requirements
Associate of Arts Degree (AA),Associate of Science Degree (AS),
and Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT)
AA AS ~AS AAT
GROUP I: English and Fine Arts
EH 113, 123, Freshman English I & II 6 6 6 6
World Literature I or II 3 6 3
Fine Arts, Literature, Music Appreciation 6 3 6
Speech 3 3 3
GROUP II: Social Science
HY 113, or 123, History of Western Civilization 3 3 3
HY 213 or 223, U.S. History 3 3 3 3
Electives: Economics, Geography, 9 3 6 9
History, Political Science, Psychology,
Sociology, Philosophy
GROUP III: Natural Science and Mathematics
Biological Science: General Biology 4-8 8 8 4
Zoology, Botany
Physical Science: Physics, Chemistry, 4-88 8 4
Physical Science
Mathematics: 3 9 3 3
College Algebra, Trigonometry,
Geometry, and Calculus
GROUP IV: Physical Education
Physical Education Courses 2 2 2
GROUP V: Computer Technology
Computer Technology Courses 4 3
Total Minimum Semester Hours 46-54 45-49 47 49
Required by Course or Area
Approved Electives 10-18 15-19 13 15
Total Minimum Semester Hours for Graduation 64 64 66 64
* EH 1023 may be substituted for 3 semester hours in certain technical programs.
**College Algebra or a higher math course is required for the A.A. Degree. **** will not be offered beginning 2012*******
~Different CIP Code 01.0000; applies only to Agricultural, Food & Life Sciences degree
Table 2A
Minimum Requirements
Associate of Arts Degree,
Associate of Science Degree,
and Associate of Applied Science Degree
A.A. A.S. A.A.S.
GROUP I: English and Fine Arts
EH 113, 123, Freshman English I & II 6 6 *6
World Literature I or II 3 6
Fine Arts, Literature, Music Appreciation 6 3
Speech 3
GROUP II: Social Science
HY 113, or 123, History of Western Civilization 3 3
HY 213 or 223, U.S. History 3 3
Electives: Economics, Geography, 9 3 3
History, Political Science, Psychology,
Sociology, Philosophy
GROUP III: Natural Science and Mathematics
Biological Science: General Biology 4 8