UACCM Announces Future Plans for Petroleum Technology Program
The
University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton has announced that its
petroleum technology program will be placed on Inactive status as soon as the current
students are given the opportunity to graduate from the program. This decision
comes on the heels of an announcement by Southwestern Energy that the natural
gas industry leader would lay off 1,100 employees, including 600 throughout its
Fayetteville Shale operations in Arkansas. At this time, no new students will
be admitted into the program.
Many of the
natural gas companies as well as service and support companies conducting
operations in the area have scaled back or discontinued their operations in response
to an ongoing drop in the price of natural gas. This comes a decade after a
surge in oil exploration and drilling operations created a host of new jobs and
also expanded educational opportunities throughout the area.
UACCM’s
Associate of Applied Science degree in petroleum technology is the only one of
its kind in the state and one of only a handful throughout the nation that
educates students in the fields of drilling, gathering, and field operations. UACCM
launched the program during the fall 2006 semester.
The
curriculum was developed in consultation with representatives from the oil and
gas industry including Houston-based Southwestern Energy Company and its
wholly-owned subsidiary SEECO, Inc.
In 2006,
Southwestern Energy announced a three-year pledge totaling $200,000 to UACCM to
assist in the development of the program.
The driving
force of the partnership between Southwestern Energy Company and UACCM was increased
natural gas production in the Fayetteville Shale Play, an area of natural gas
drilling, gathering, and field operations in Franklin, Conway, Van Buren,
Cleburne, and Faulkner Counties. Geologists and engineers discovered this
geologic structure located within the Arkoma Basin of eastern Oklahoma and north
central and western Arkansas contained one of the largest supplies of natural
gas in the United States.
The collaboration
between the college and representatives of the oil and gas industry helped lead
to significant economic growth for the area.
Once the
petroleum technology department was established, the plan of study was tailored
specifically for the needs of the companies doing business in the Fayetteville
Shale Play. The college established an advisory committee made up of
representatives from various natural gas drilling and production companies as
well as service and support businesses working in the play. Advisory committees
provide curriculum design guidance and equipment donations to ensure the
programs remain relevant and up-to-date with industry changes.
Throughout
the years, enrollment grew from 30 students in its first semester to almost 200
students per semester at its peak. Through December 2015, a total of 1142
certificates and degrees were awarded to 462 individual students.
In 2006, a group
of individuals representing companies working in the Fayetteville Shale formed
the Fayetteville Shale Scholarship Fund (FSSF), a 501 (c) 3 organization whose
mission was to encourage and enable individuals to pursue educational
opportunities and prepare for careers in the Arkansas oil and gas industry. The
FSSF organization held fundraisers throughout the years, resulting in donations
of $635,000 for student scholarship awards and $215,500 to the UACCM Give
Meaning campaign. During that period, 640 scholarships were awarded.
UACCM
Chancellor Dr. Larry Davis stated, “We appreciate the Fayetteville Shale
Scholarship Fund Board’s continuing support of our students and the petroleum
program throughout the years, and their contributions have been invaluable. The
donations to our Give Meaning campaign will have a lasting impact as we break
ground on the Workforce Training Center this spring.”
There are
currently 58 students enrolled in the petroleum technology program, of which 23
are on schedule to graduate in May 2016. The other 35 students will be given
the opportunity to take the remaining required courses needed to complete the
Associate of Applied Science degree, or they may change their major and pursue
a new plan of study in another program.
UACCM
representatives recently met with the FSSF Board regarding revised criteria for
scholarship recipients, and expanded the eligibility criteria. The petroleum
students remaining in the program who are currently receiving FSSF scholarships
will remain eligible for the scholarships provided they continue to meet the
criteria.
There will
be two additional scholarships available. The FSSF dislocated workers tuition
scholarship is $500 per semester and requires documentation of an individual
being displaced from a job directly related to the Arkansas oil and gas
industry within the past 12 months. Students must enroll in a minimum of nine
semester credit hours in a technical career field or transfer field that leads
to a certificate or associate degree which will enhance an individual’s future
employment opportunities.
The FSSF
dislocated workers short-term training scholarship is also available to those
who can show documentation that they have been displaced from a job directly
related to the Arkansas oil and gas industry within the past 12 months.
Individuals must enroll in a short-term workforce training program at UACCM
that leads to a certificate of completion and enhances future employment opportunities.
This scholarship may be awarded for up to two short-term training programs with
a maximum award amount of $500 per training.
Vice
Chancellor for Academic Services Diana Arn remarked, “In collaboration with
Southwestern Energy and other companies, UACCM met a labor market need, trained
a skilled workforce, and now we have to adapt as industry needs change.” Arn
stated that the college “has been proud to be part of an endeavor that has
shown tremendous benefits for the citizens of Conway County and surrounding
communities,” and she pledged the college’s commitment to helping those
impacted by the latest circumstances.
According to
the Arkansas Department of Higher Education guidelines, a program placed on
Inactive status can be reactivated during a five-year period if conditions
change. An industry reversal in job availability, corporate demand, or
employment projections could support reactivation allowing UACCM to commence
classes in the program.
As a two-year community college, UACCM has been able to respond to
changing needs of business and industry in a quick and efficient manner.
Throughout the years, UACCM reacted when the community faced a crisis and met
the challenge of retraining individuals left without a job after the loss of an
industry, as well as business downsizing.
Comments
Post a Comment
Thoughts on this blog entry? Bring 'em on!