Arkansas State University-Main Campus

Arkansas State University-Main Campus Summary

Arkansas State University at Mountain Home is a two year college located in Mountain Home, Arkansas. Among other tracks, the college prepares nurses who may then go on to serve at the massive health complex and supporting facilities that surround the Baxter Regional Medical Center located in Mountain Home.

Summary content courtesy of Wikipedia.

Arkansas State University-Main Campus History

Arkansas State University is located in Jonesboro, Arkansas. There are additional campuses in Beebe, Newport, and Mountain Home, and there are various regional programs or other partnerships sponsored by the University throughout the state. The University was founded in 1909 and is regionally accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and by eighteen specialized accreditation organizations. It began as an agricultural training school with a two-year program, and then became a four-year college which eventually achieved university status. Master’s degree programs began in 1955, and it was in 1992 that the University instituted its first doctoral degree. There are now three doctoral programs. Associates decrees are also awarded.

The University is also a member of the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, which performs agricultural and medical research. It is a joint venture among several universities and hospitals aimed at promoting the health of Arkansas residents. According to its mission statement, “Arkansas State University pursues and shares knowledge within a caring community that prepares students in challenging and diverse ways to become more productive global citizens.”

Two-year programs were offered in 1918, and then four-year status was obtained in 1930. University status was obtained in 1967, when Arkansas State University adopted its current name.

Arkansas State University-Main Campus Academics

Arkansas State maintains a number of colleges: Agriculture, Business, Communications, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Nursing and Health Professions, Science and Mathematics, and the University College. There is also an Honors College and an independent Department of Military Science. The Graduate School is a separate college.

The school offers undergraduate majors in all of its colleges, awarding bachelor’s degrees in (among others) various arts and sciences, humanities, computer sciences, wildlife conservation, recreation, social sciences, public administration, visual and performing arts, agriculture, communication, and business. Associate degrees are awarded in areas of business, education, engineering technology, health, mechanic/repair, and law enforcement. The University also offers a number of minors, encompassing many of the standard majors but also including such areas as folklore studies, horticulture, radio-television, and women and gender.

A number of master’s degree programs also exist. There is an emphasis on business and education amongst master’s degrees, but social sciences, humanities, and health sciences are also represented. Arkansas State University also awards specialist’s degrees (Ed.S.) in community college teaching and education. The three doctoral degree programs are in educational leadership, environmental science, and heritage studies.

Arkansas State offers dozens of degree programs, including numerous concentrations in agricultural business, journalism, middle-level education, radiological science, engineering, and finance. Associate degrees are offered in automotive service technology, clinical laboratory science, digital electronics technology, and several other disciplines.

Arkansas State University-Main Campus Unique Programs

Arkansas State University also maintains an international program which includes study abroad programs for American students, admission to Arkansas State for international students, and a special program in Middle East Studies.

Arkansas State is home to the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, the mission of which is to improve the health of Arkansas residence through coordinating research between its five institutions. The Institute was originally created out of a significant tobacco settlement and the proceeds derived from it in 2000. The Institute focuses on agriculture and basic medical research applied to health sciences.

Arkansas State University-Main Campus Financial Aid

Financial aid includes federal and state grants, loans, scholarships, and college work-study programs. Tuition for resident undergraduate students was $134.50 per credit hour in 2004-2005. Graduate students and nonresidents pay additional costs.

In order to receive financial aid, applicants must be U.S. citizens, have a valid social security number, be registered with selective service, be enrolled at least half-time, not be in default on any other federal funds, and make satisfactory academic progress. Arkansas State offers a variety of academic scholarships and grant funds based on need, merit, or both.

Arkansas State University-Main Campus Students

The University library provides students with electronic databases, books and journals, interlibrary loans, and other services. The University maintains a collection of popular fiction and nonfiction books borrowed from the McNaughton Co. every few months.

Arkansas State University also maintains an off-campus institution devoted to the Arkansas Pfeiffer family and Ernest Hemingway. Also located in the University library is the Delta Study Center, which supports research and outreach throughout the communities of the lower Mississippi Delta.

Arkansas State advocates that students living on campus will earn higher grades, are less likely to drop out, will develop better study habits, will participate more in student affairs, and will have more contact with other students who share their interests. All of these assertions have been documented, and are a good reason that so many students choose to live on the ASU campus.

Arkansas State University-Main Campus Local Community

Jonesboro is located in northeastern Arkansas and has a population of approximately 50,000. The landscape is gently mountainous, and much of the local area is devoted to agriculture.

Jonesboro is a small town with a big history. The first complete census was recorded in 1860, when the town had a population just over 1,100. The main product of the area is rice, which has been grown in the area for nearly 100 years. The first high school graduation was held in 1911. Jonesboro was a center of the economic Depression in the 30s, but managed to survive and thrive to its current state today.