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More students continue to choose Greek life at the Uni- versity of Arkansas, Fayette- ville. The university had 19 fra- ternities and 15 sororities with 7,096 members as of August. About 25 percent of 23,044 un- dergraduates were members. In 2010, about 20 percent of the 16,794 undergraduates belonged to a Greek organi- zation. Greek Life Director Parice Bowser doesn't see signs of a slowdown. "I believe we're going to continue to grow," Bowser said. "I'm not going to say we're at the point we're going to hit a plateau, but when we do hit that plateau growth is going to stay steady." Sororities and fraternities have responded by building houses and renovating old ones. A few examples include the Delta Delta Delta sorority house on Maple Street under- going a $14 million renovation and expansion. The chapter has 400 members, second largest in the country. The Lambda Chi Alpha fra- ternity finished a $6.6 million renovation and expansion in November 2016. It was the first fraternity house built on Stadium Drive. The Delta Gamma sorori- ty re-established a chapter on campus in 2016 with 250 mem- bers and is joining the numer- ous Greek houses along Maple Avenue. Architects are pro- ducing drawings for the $12.3 million project, said Jay Hun- eycutt, planner and designer for UA Facilities Management. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2019. Huneycutt said two frater- nities are considering build- ing on Stadium Drive, and a sorority is considering Maple Avenue. Of the 24 Greek houses, the university leases to eight fraternities and four sororities, according to Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities management. "Greek housing provides members with an opportuni- ty to live in an environment that will enhance their overall collegiate experience by cre- ating a community for one to live, learn, develop and grow," Bowser said. HIGHER EDUCATION UA Greek life keeps growing STAFF REPORT The area's main institutions of higher education are different enough so there's more collabo- ration than competition recruit- ing high school graduates, school officials said. It's more about helping stu- dents find the right fit for them, said representatives from North- west Arkansas Community Col- lege, John Brown University and the University of Arkansas. The two-year community col- lege often plays a role in helping students save money during their first years of college or preparing them academically for a four-year institution, while John Brown is a private, Christian institution and provides a different experience than the much larger UA, school officials said. Each school said it places an emphasis on recruiting students from Arkansas. While many of the methods are similar, each has its own challenges. Students are also influenced by high school coun- selors, whom recruiters work closely with to make sure they have the information they need. RECRUITING LOCALLY All of the colleges draw many students from the region. Northwest Arkansas Commu- nity College pulled 94 percent of its 7,715 students in the 2017 fall semester from Arkansas; 54 percent from Benton County, 36 percent from Washington County and 4 percent from other Arkan- sas counties. UA's state residents made up 55 percent of the 27,558-member student body and about 40 per- cent of JBU's 1,379 student body is from Arkansas. All three schools rely on tra- ditional recruiting methods such as college fairs, visiting high schools and holding events for high school students, parents and school counselors. Campus visits are one of the most successful tools in helping a student decide if a school is right for them, officials said. Visits help students visualize what it would be like to attend a school and al- low them to meet with faculty, staff and students. "The visit is huge," said Han- nah Bradford, director of admis- sions at John Brown. "If the stu- dent doesn't visit, they (likely) won't come." Getting prospective students to visit is a main recruitment NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK Students leave the Cathedral of the Ozarks on the campus of John Brown University in Siloam Springs. Universities, colleges help students find best fit MELISSA GUTE NWA DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL... See COLLEGES, Page 6T counties in Arkansas and Mc- Donald County, Mo. — will need about 1,000 medical pro- fessionals and 800 support staff annually through 2028, Rob Smith, Northwest Arkan- sas Council communications and policy director, wrote in an email. From 2015 to 2016, about 1,024 people became health care staff or professionals, he wrote. The council is a group of business and community lead- ers who attract businesses to Northwest Arkansas and im- prove the area's workforce. Statewide, about 15,000 health-care-related jobs have been created since 2014, Jeb- araj said. "We've seen health care jobs across the state and in Northwest Arkansas go up significantly," Jebaraj said. Health care technicians, practitioners and support specialist jobs are expected to grow in Benton and Washing- ton counties by nearly 5 per- cent between 2016 and 2018, according to the Arkansas De- partment of Workforce Ser- vices. That's above the state- wide prediction of 3.6 percent. "What's encouraging is that many of our region's school districts are actively address- ing our need for those health care support staff," Smith said. "There's a real willingness to be active creators of new pro - grams." Educational programs, from bachelor's degrees to nine- week certificates, are growing among area institutions. The schools partner to funnel stu - dents into more education. UAMS and Northwest Ar- kansas Community College are working on an early accep- tance agreement for the com- munity college's students to go directly into the Radiologic Imaging Sciences program at UA's Fayetteville campus. The University of Arkansas and UAMS are offering a new occupational therapy doctorate program. The first students in the program will arrive during the 2019 school year, said Fran W. Hagstrom, assistant dean for the UA College of Educa- tion and Health Professions. That joint-venture works in part because UAMS start- ed a physical therapy program that could become a pipeline for other programs, Hagstrom said. The first cohort of physi- cal therapy students at UAMS graduate in May, which means the new program is on target for professional accreditation, said Susan Long, interim dean of the UAMS College of Health Professions. Schools are working togeth- er, including hospitals and clin- ics that accept more students to train, said Jamin Snarr, EMS program director at Northwest Arkansas Community College. "Everybody kind of stepped up to help us out and allowed us to increase our student numbers," Snarr said. NWACC agreed in Novem- ber to accept licensed practical nurse graduates from North- west Technical Institute into its registered nursing program early. About 50 nursing stu- dents at the technical school are expected to graduate this May and be eligible for the ear- ly admittance. "It's just a pathway from Northwest Technical Insti- tute to further their nursing career with higher degrees," said Blake Robertson, institute president. Hospitals in particular are looking for more education among its employees, Robert- son said. The shortage of health care professionals includes para- medics, Snarr said. The em- ployee turnover rate at Central Emergency Medical Service, an ambulance service that cov- ers nearly all of Washington County, was about 17 percent last year. Officials with Cen- tral EMS and fire departments have said they struggle to find, recruit and keep paramedics. That shortage is why the community college accepted 25 students, instead of the usu- al 18, into the paramedic pro- gram this spring, Snarr said. The school plans to expand to 34 students until the shortage is over, he said. The institute plans to begin a short-term phlebotomy program starting next fall. UAMS continues to grow in the area. It is assessing whether to start a sonography program and wants more students in radiological imaging sciences, Gardner said. The master's degree in genetic counseling program is growing to eight students, and four of those stu- dents will be at the Northwest campus. Schools are trying to ex- pand while continuing to give students quality education and find space, but there is a bot- tleneck at the education level, Jebaraj said. The University of Arkansas gets about 400 applications for 100 student spots per semester, Hagstrom said. "That's not uncommon among health professionals at all," she said. For example, 261 people ap- plied for 36 slots in the UAMS physician assistant program this year, according to the school. The ratio for speech language pathology is even worse — 151 applications for about 20 spots. Competition among students is stiff, Rob- ertson said. Last semester, the institute moved students in its nursing and surgical technology pro- grams into a bigger classroom and laboratory, but it's not enough, Robertson said. The school needs more space, and applications are on the rise. "We turn away good stu- dents because we just don't have the space," Robertson said. Robertson asked the state for a $3.5 million grant to dou- ble the size of its center for health care programs about a year ago but didn't get the money, he said. He plans to ask the governor again, he said. Schools inevitably must ac- cept more students, but growth should be done so class sizes don't overwhelm instructors and students still get the edu- cation they expect, Hagstrom said. Decisions on growth are up to the schools, she said. "Can we expand? Abso- lutely," Hagstrom said about the University of Arkansas. "And, I think we will see some expansion of programs in the coming years." Scarlet Sims can be reached by email at ssims@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAScarlets. Health v Continued from Page 1T Getting in Many higher education institutions receive more applications than they can accept. Applications to several health-related programs at the Northwest Technical Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and University of Arkansas, Fayetteville for the 2017-18 academic year show that trend. Program School Number of applicants Number of seats Ratio of applicants to seat Dental hygiene UAMS 143 34 4:1 Genetic counseling UAMS 42 6 7:1 Physician assistant UAMS 261 36 7:1 Physical therapy UAMS 181 26 7:1 Speech pathology UAMS 151 20 8:1 Speech language pathology University of Arkansas 200 24 8:1 Nursing University of Arkansas 400 200 2:1 Nursing Northwest Technical Institute 110 48 2:1 SOURCE: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Arkansas, Northwest Technical Institute 4T v SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2018 ∂ ∂ Education www.bvwsonline.com 479-876-2220 31 Cunningham Corner (just west of DQ) YUENGLING AVAILABLE NOW 10am-8pm Mon./Thur. & 10am-9pm Fri. & Sat. 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