The South Arkansas Community College Testing Center has met all requirements to be recognized as a National College Testing Association certified testing center, said Dr. Jim Bullock, vice president for student services at SouthArk.
During the SouthArk board meeting on Tuesday, Bullock also announced that the Learning Center has developed an online tutoring center through BlackBoard in the areas of mathematics, writing and science. All Spring 2016 students will be enrolled in online tutoring as a BlackBoard course so they can have access to this service if needed.
A panic button software has been installed on computers in almost every classroom, according to Dr. Tim Kirk, chief information officer at SouthArk. Information technology staff is working with faculty and staff to deploy this system in individual offices as well.
Students, faculty and staff can also download an app for their phones linking it to the SouthArk Alertus system.
Two videos, the promotional tour video and the summer recruitment video, are finalists for National Paragon Awards through the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations.
“We are very excited about this,” Dr. Stephanie Tully-Dartez, chief institutional effectiveness and advancement officer for SouthArk, said.
Tully-Dartez also announced that Corporate Education will soon be offering non-credit classes at the new classroom in Warren. Initial requests include computer and management training.
Four policies were reviewed and approved by the board, including financial planning and budget, financial conditions and activities, asset protection and lifelong learning.
A memorandum involving board expense reimbursement was also presented by Dr. Barbara Jones, president of SouthArk, and approved by the board.
“Each board member should be reimbursed for performing official board duties not exceeding the rate established for state employees by travel regulations,” the memo reads.
A $25,000 promotional limit for the 2016-2017 fiscal year was also presented by Jones and approved by the board.
This budget is used to purchase items for recruitment of students and promotional items for general marketing of SouthArk.
Monthly financial statements from November revealed that the total cash and investments was $6,748,728.21. The total cash and investments for December was $6,601,488.01.
A report from Cynthia Reyna, director of foundation and external funding at SouthArk, showed that the annual audit by Evers, Cox and Gober was completed with no issues and was approved.
A social media campaign is also taking place including participation with the Arkansas Community Foundation in the “Arkansas Gives” online giving initiative on April 7.
This is a fundraising program for the state’s non-profit organizations that challenges Arkansans to give to the charities of their choice.