SAU Tech Continues with Pilot Program to Benefit Students

SAU TECH Continues with Pilot Program to Benefit Students

Camden, AR-Southern Arkansas University Tech (SAU Tech) is pleased to announce the continuation of Education Pays, a pilot program through the Arkansas Division of Higher Education via the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative. SAU Tech started participation in the Education Pays Program in January 2021 and is approved to continue for the fall semester.

The Education Pays program augments the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative by adding incentives along the educational journey for adult students. Education Pays includes cash for enrollment and progression towards a degree or certification and completion of a credential. The program is for students who already meet the requirements for the Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative and meet the following additional requirements:

  • Household income less than 150% of the federal poverty level
  • $32,940 for a family of 3
  • Have a child under the age of 21 who resides with you
  • Must be enrolled in at least six course credit hours or an approved non-credit program
  • Must maintain satisfactory progress:
  • For Credit: 2.0 GPA (minimum) for coursework taken during the semester
  • Non-credit: satisfactory progress certified by the student’s instructor

Dr. Edward Rice, SAU Tech’s Vice Chancellor for Student Services, supervises the program’s operation and had this to say. “Education Pays is an additional component to the Career Pathways program that will assist in removing barriers and helping students reach their educational goals. These programs are great for adults with children who are looking to go to college for the first time or to return to college to complete a degree or certification. It is a program that empowers the student by providing funds for expenses not traditionally covered by scholarships such as childcare, transportation, textbooks, and now, incentives to get started and work hard to complete.” Dr. Jason Morrison, SAU Tech’s Chancellor, says that he is excited about what the program brings to the table for students who typically struggle to earn a degree. The Education Pays and Career Pathways Initiative helps level the playing field for deserving adults to change their lives and the lives of their families by earning a degree.

For more information on Arkansas Career Pathways and the Education Pays initiatives, call 870-574-4704 or email SAU Tech’s CPI Director, LaTonya Reed, at lreed@sautech.edu. SAU Tech’s fall semester starts on August 18, and students can enroll until August 20.

The Arkansas Career Pathways Initiative (CPI) is an education and training initiative administered by the Arkansas Division of Higher Education (ADHE) at Arkansas two-year colleges, which is designed to enable low-income parents to acquire the degrees and credentials required to obtain and hold jobs in selected high-demand, high wage industries. The CPI model was first initiated in Arkansas in 2003, when the Arkansas Community College association, the Southern Good Faith Fund (SGFF), and the Governor’s Office, with a grant from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, piloted the first career pathways effort to develop a strategy for improving educational attainment for low-income and low-skilled adults in partnership with Southeast Arkansas College in Pine Bluff. The model was unique in that it focused on non-traditional students by combining extensive student support, developmental education offerings, and a focus on high-wage and/or high-demand occupations. Following the pilot, the state TANF agency, the Arkansas Transitional Employment Assistance Program (TEA), in partnership with ADHE, replicated the program at ten additional two-year colleges throughout the state. The initiative became codified by state mandate in 2005 under the state’s Department of Workforce Services (DWS), and by 2007 had expanded to an additional 11 two-year college sites and three technical college campuses affiliated with four-year universities, for a total of 25 campuses statewide. (https://peerta.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/public/uploaded_files/Case%20Study-_md_kf_13-dew.pdf)