National Park Community College Profile

Background

National Park Community College in Hot Springs, Arkansas, was formed in 2003 when Garland County Community College and Quapaw Technical Institute joined to become a truly comprehensive community college. Fifty-eight percent of students receive PELL funding, and this percentage will continue to grow as the college implements programs targeted at helping low-income students enroll, attend, and succeed in higher education.

The college motto is "Learning is our focus; student success is our goal." NPCC is devoted to assisting all students achieve their individual educational goals by creating a learning community that is accessible, convenient, caring, affordable, and secure.In recent years, the college has participated in and implemented initiatives focusing on student achievement and success. NPCC offers courses and programs in the liberal arts and occupation education in order to help students transfer to a four-year college or enter the workforce. 

Achieving the Dream Goals

National Park Community College’s goal is to effectively use data to implement programs and policies that will improve student success. During its first year in Achieving the Dream, the college plans to:

• Thoroughly examine retention rates, student grades, course completion rates, and graduation rates, with particular emphasis on disaggregating the data by gender, ethnicity, and income level
• Establish stronger partnerships with the seven county high schools in order to strengthen preparation of high school graduates
• Investigate supplemental instruction as a potential intervention across several disciplines
• Evaluate the need for ESL assessment for placement, as well as for a ESL component within the developmental studies program
• Reshape developmental education, particularly with attention to the math sequence and reading and writing classes