Established: 1964
Joined system: 1996
Enrollment: 2,199
www.pccua.edu

At a Glance

The first community college established in Arkansas, Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA) is a multi-campus, two-year college serving Eastern Arkansas. Since its inception in 1964, the college has grown from an original enrollment of fewer than 250 students in 14 program areas to over 2,300 students in academic, occupational/technical and continuing education programs and offers 25 associate degree programs. PCCUA has campuses in DeWitt, Helena-W. Helena and Stuttgart.

Points of Pride

• PCCUA has received recognition in the Leah Meyer Austin Institutional Student Success Leadership competition for its reinvented approach to teaching, having increased course success, persistence and graduation rates.
• One of four Arkansas two-year colleges to participate in Achieving the Dream, PCCUA has been selected as an Achieving the Dream Leader College.  Leader Colleges are selected based on their committed leadership, use of evidence to improve programs and services, broad engagement, and systemic institutional improvement.
• The PCCUA-Stuttgart Grand Prairie Center (GPC) is entering its fourth performance season, which features opportunities for some of the artists to reach out to younger audiences with free shows for school children and special workshops and opportunities for some of the artists to connect with the community.
• Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA) was among a select group of 25 finalists in the national spotlight for innovation and promising practices among two-year colleges nationwide. PCCUA was one of five colleges recognized as a finalist by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in the Student Success category for its reinvented approach to teaching and student engagement which have resulted in an increase in student course success and a dramatic increase in graduation rates.
• PCCUA was invited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to participate in the Higher Learning Commission’s Open Pathway Construction Project, a new model for accreditation. PCCUA is one of only three Arkansas colleges and universities and one of only about 20 within thousands of HLC accredited colleges and universities invited to pioneer this process because of accreditation standing with HLC.
• PCCUA is a Bridging Cultures Community College selected as one of 16 colleges nationwide by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Community College Humanities Association to connect students and communities to better understandings and appreciation for diverse cultures.
• PCCUA has administered the GEAR UP Partnership since 2005 and is in year three of its second GEAR UP grant, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education with a dollar-for-dollar match requirement for the partnership. The current grant supports junior high and high school students in eight area school districts (Barton-Lexa, DeWitt, Dumas, Helena-West Helena, Lakeside, Lee County, Marvell-Elaine, and Stuttgart) by providing faculty development, student programs and direct programming for students through a summer program.