Maria Markham, the director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, said the metrics for the state’s new funding formula for colleges and universities should be finalized later this month. read more >

The Arkansas Department of Workforce Services released a report in July that showed Arkansas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in June 2016. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported unadjusted unemployment rates of 3.1 percent for northwest Arkansas and 4.2 percent for Arkansas. read more >

An education resource to help navigate the leadership of the largest Arkansas companies or institutions. read more >

NorthWest Arkansas Community College said Tuesday that its Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management will expand thanks to three grants totaling $15 million from the Walton Family Foundation. read more >

Workforce development has become a popular issue as industry leaders have said they have a hard time finding enough quality workers to fill their needs. It’s a renewed focus of groups like the Northwest Arkansas Council, which recently announced a three-year plan to strengthen the area’s workforce development and the ties between employers and schools. read more >

Culinary education in Arkansas’ public colleges and universities has boomed in recent years, and educators say they’re placing their students in jobs before they even graduate. read more >

Evelyn Jorgenson became Northwest Arkansas Community College’s third president on July 1. She succeeded Becky Paneitz. Before coming to Bentonville last year to head NWACC, Jorgenson had spent the previous 26 years at Moberly Area Community College in Missouri and had been that school’s president since 1996. read more >

Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville are expecting another drop in enrollment figures. Official head counts are not reported until Jan. 28, the 11th day of spring semester classes, but the numbers are down at both schools. read more >

Fayetteville was thinking ahead when it led an effort resulting in the creation of the Fayetteville Center of Excellence for green job training. The center is administered by NorthWest Arkansas Community College, but the road to its creation was paved by the city of Fayetteville, led by a partnership of public and private officials who secured the federal funds to make it happen. read more >

Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas, offered her economic outlook for the state and nation during the Quarterly Business Analysis luncheon. read more >

As Northwest Arkansas has grown, so too have the post-secondary offerings in Benton and Washington counties. While the University of Arkansas enrollment topping 24,500 has been well publicized, other schools in the region are growing as well. read more >

A recent business retention and expansion survey conducted by the Northwest Arkansas Council and local chambers of commerce reveal that 30 percent of the more than 450 employers surveyed — a sample that ranged from mom-and-pop operations to global retailers — plan expansions within the next three years. read more >

NWACC officials think there is much to like about the 83,000-SF center, which opened this semester. Not only is there an ambulance simulator, the three-story facility is home to 11 labs, including an emergency room and intensive care unit. read more >

Contract terms for NorthWest Arkansas Community College President Dr. Evelyn Jorgenson were approved Thursday by the school’s board of trustees. Jorgenson will be paid a base salary of $176,826 per year. read more >

Northwest Arkansas Community College’s board of trustees has agreed to pursue a contract with Evelyn Jorgenson to become the college’s next president. read more >