the arkansas promise

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THE ARKANSAS PROMISEMaking Arkansas the unparalleledleader in access to higher education

A plan to invest inArkansass uture by

BILL HALTER

March 2013


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Table of Contents

Opening Letter from Bill Halter 3Introduction 5Our Past as a Prologue for Our Future 7An Investment In Higher Education Returns For Individuals 11Return on Investment for the Entire State 12Whats Holding Us Back? 15What Have We Done? 18Whats Working - Two Arkansas Examples 19A Promise for Arkansas 21

A Smart Investment 22The Time is Now 23Notes 25

2 THE ARKANSAS PROMISE


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My ellow Arkansans,

Arkansas is at a crossroads, and this next election will set our states course or the next generation. Tequestion is how do we prepare our people to compete and prosper in a rapidly changing global econ-

omy? Google, with over 32,000 employees and a market capitalization o $270 billion is younger thantodays 10th grade students. Facebook, with over one billion users, and valued at close to $65 billion,didnt exist 10 years ago. Te businesses thatll be changing the world 10 years rom now may not evenexist yet.

Te critical ingredient in the success o leading companies is a well-educated, well-trained workorce.Tat is why I believe the single most important thing we can do to bring those kinds o businesses toArkansas and to help Arkansans nd the best-paying jobs they can is to improve access to highereducation.

A young adult who receives a college degree today can expect to earn at least $1 million more over thecourse o his or her working lie than a similarly situated Arkansan who does not. But Arkansas cur-rently ranks 49th out o 50 states in the percentage o our workorce with college degrees behindMississippi and ahead o only West Virginia. And were not just competing with other states. Withintwo decades, China will have 200 million college graduates. Tats more than the entire U.S. workorce.Within the next ten years, India will produce our times as many college graduates as the U.S. We mustmeet this challenge. It is time to give every Arkansas high school student the opportunity to attend col-lege i they earn it.

I call it the Arkansas Promise.

Simply stated, i you go to high school in Arkansas, qualiy or a lottery scholarship, maintain a 2.5GPA, and plan to attend college in the state, we promise to pay your college tuition. Te overall scholar-ship level would be set at the tuition level o the highest-cost, our-year public university in Arkansas.And we will pay or this investment without raising taxes, by combining the Lottery Scholarship, ed-eral grant aid, additional private scholarships, and charitable support.

Several orward-looking communities have made promises o opportunity through higher educationor their students. Tere are two here in Arkansas. Te El Dorado Promise and the Arkadelphia Prom-ise have provided hope or their communities. But no state in America has made this promise, andArkansas should be the rst.

THE ARKANSAS PROMISE

3THE ARKANSAS PROMISE


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Te Arkansas Promise builds on the incredible success o the Arkansas Lottery Scholarship programI spearheaded as Lt. Governor. o date, weve put $300 million in the scholarship und and awardednearly 100,000 scholarships. Many students who never considered college an option are now pursuingopportunities to achieve a better uture or themselves and their amilies, while at the same time im-proving the economic prospects o their communities, and our entire state.

We are all shaped by our own experiences in lie. I have spent over hal o my career in the private sec-tor working with highly innovative companies in inormation technology, telecommunications, bio-technology, medical devices, biouels, and energy conservation that have created thousands o jobs. Atevery one o these companies, Ive seen rst-hand how essential higher education is in todays world,

and I want every Arkansan to get the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

Te pages that ollow spell out in detail how we can do it and how to pay or it. Some may nd this tooambitious. But i you wouldnt hire a ootball coach who doesnt aspire to winning the national cham-pionship and have a plan to do so, then why would you hire a Chie Executive Ocer o the state whodoesnt aspire to help make Arkansas the best state in America and have a plan to make it happen?When I was growing up in North Little Rock, we Arkansans called our state the Land o Opportunity.ogether, we can once again live up to that aspiration.

Tanks,

Bill Halter



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INTRODUCTIONNever in human history has the global economy changed as rapidly as it is changing today. Tis pres-ents both opportunity and peril as Arkansas and America navigate these changes. Knowledge and dataare being generated at unprecedented and accelerating rates. Right now we create more inormationeach year than we have in nearly all the previous years o human history combined. 1 Entire industries

are being reinvented and reengineered with breathtaking speed. Americas competitors are working togain the upper hand in this data-driven, knowledge-based, and rapidly changing economy.

At the same time that competitive pressures are growing, unemployment is still ar too high. Incomesor most olks are stagnant or worse. Our political system seems less able to unction. Public condencein our institutions has never been lower. While we hope or civil discussions and debate, too oen weget shouting matches and 30-second sound bites. Gridlock and dysunction in Washington remaineven aer an election only our months ago which should have spurred action rather than rancor anddespite our common view that elections should help decide big issues and allow us to move orward.

As my wie Shanti and I talked about the enormous task o running or governor and the type o state

that we would like our 4 and 6 year old daughters to grow older in, we resolved to do things dierently.We want this campaign to be about ideas to advance Arkansas rather than labels and name-calling. Webelieve that Arkansas voters have earned the right to be treated as adults and to be presented with acts,especially when so much political debate now occurs in a act-ree zone.

We are all shaped by our own experiences in lie. I have spent over hal o my career in the private sec-tor working with highly innovative companies. Te balance o my career so ar has been spent workingsuccessully to balance the ederal budget on Capitol Hill and in the White House budget oce, leadingthe Social Security Administration, and as Arkansass Lieutenant Governor. I have sought to bring les-sons rom the private sector to these public sector organizations.

Much o my private sector experience has been serving on the boards o directors o ten high-technolo-gy companies. Tese companies in inormation technology, telecommunications, biotechnology, medi-cal devices, biouels, and energy conservation have created thousands o jobs, terric technologies, andlie-saving drugs.

In order to succeed, these companies must meet a bottom line, make the highest return investments,and build great products or their customers. In every case, a key to these companies success is howthey respond to and approach the rapid and inevitable changes in their markets. Te possible responsesbroadly all into three categories: resist, ride, or shape. Tose companies that resist the changes in theeconomy or technological possibilities and try to stubbornly hold on to past practices are almost in-



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evitably doomed to ailure either through going out o business or being bought by a stronger, nimblercompetitor. Tose companies that ride and respond ably to change can continue to operate protablyand maintain their market position. But or me, the most interesting companies are those that seize the

possibilities brought about by changes in technology or markets and literally create the uture (think oGoogle, Apple, and others).

Te universal and critical ingredient or the success o these companies is having a talented, well-edu-cated, well-trained workorce. Te single most important thing we can do to incentivize businesses tolocate and expand here in Arkansas and to help Arkansans nd the best-paying jobs is to improveaccess to higher education. Even better, the greater the production o educated talent in Arkansas, thegreater the chances o ounding and building the next great companies here. A young adult who re-

ceives a college degree today can expect to earn at least $1 millionmore over the course o his or her working lie than a similarly sit-

uated Arkansan who does not. But Arkansas currently ranks 49thout o 50 states in the percentage o our workorce with collegedegrees behind Mississippi and ahead o only West Virginia.

I believe that voters are entitled to know not only about a candi-dates experiences and policy proposals but also about the valuesand ideals that underlie them. I believe that aith, community,opportunity, responsibility, eciency, and airness are among ourcore principles, ideals, and values in Arkansas and across Ameri-ca.

Arkansans value and have benetted rom a sense o communitythat spans generations and lies at the heart o who we are as astate. Whether in schools, at churches, in neighborhoods, or atballparks we recognize our mutual obligations to one another. We

are among the most philanthropic o Americans and will spontaneously and massively help those inneed. We respect teachers, coaches, nurses, and clergy, and we honor those vocations because they re-fect both a desire and a commitment to be a part o something much bigger than our individual selves.We stand together to promote the utures o all our children - not just our individual amilies, but allthose in the next generation o Arkansans.

Opportunity is so important to Arkansans that or decades we called our state the Land o Opportunity.We are willing to devote time, energy and resources to help ensure that Arkansans have the tools andskills necessary to succeed in the 21st Century. Were not going to guarantee results; were not or givinga handout to the able-bodied. But we are or providing a hand up or everybody making it possibleor every Arkansan to succeed. In return we expect responsible behavior and hard work. Ideally, weprovide members o our community with opportunities or success and expect them to work hard totake advantage o them.

Arkansans also have a deep sense o airness. We believe that opportunities should be available to all,not just to those avored by birth or circumstance. We reject avoritism and hope or equal opportunity.And while we may not have achieved perection in pursuit o this ideal yet, we are making progress.

A YOUNG ADULT WHO RECEIVESA COLLEGE DEGREE TODAY CANEXPECT TO EARN AT LEAST $1MILLION MORE OVER THE COURSEOF HIS OR HER WORKING LIFE

THAN A SIMILARLY SITUATEDARKANSAN WHO DOES NOT.



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We are a people o aith -- aith in God and aith in one another. In our best moments, we are inspiredby belies that we hold in common while being respectul o our specic dierences. In our best mo-ments, we are mindul o our obligations to help all live up to the ullness o their God-given potential.

Tese acts, these ideals, and these belies are the oundation or the policy proposals to come in ourcampaign. Te rst o these proposals I call the Arkansas Promise.

Te Arkansas Promise can be stated simply: I you go to high school in Arkansas, qualiy or a lotteryscholarship, and plan to attend college in our state, your tuition will be paid or. By combining the Lot-tery Scholarship, ederal grant aid, philanthropic support, and additional Arkansas scholarship undswe can cover the tuition costs o our students who achieve and maintain a 2.5 GPA. Like the El DoradoPromise and the Arkadelphia Promise, the overall scholarship level would be set at the tuition level othe highest-cost, our-year public university in Arkansas. And just as with the Lottery Scholarship, wewill pay or this investment without raising taxes.

Te Arkansas Promise refects all the values discussed above. As a community we would commit toproviding the opportunity or all Arkansans who work hard and behave responsibly to be provided thetools to compete in the 21st Century economy. We know rom repeated experience that this investmentin our people has among the highest returns available to us. We can provide the necessary resourceswithout raising taxes. We can help our people who earn it the means to live up to their potential.Te pages that ollow spell out how we can do it, where and why similar approaches have been success-ul, and how to pay or it. We can eliminate nancial impediments to higher education, decrease thedebt burden on our students, increase the number o our citizens who have degrees, improve atten-

dance and perormance in our public schools, and create more jobs and economic growth. Next up,two important lessons rom our history.

OUR PAST AS A PROLOGUE FOR OUR FUTURE

Arkansass Relative Economic Standing

A number o economic statistics highlight the challenge we ace when it comes to Arkansass economicstanding relative to other states: unemployment rates, productivity o our work orce, and state gross

domestic product. But one measure is particularly telling: per capita personal income, which equals thetotal personal income o our state divided by our state population. In 2010 Arkansas ranked 48th out othe 50 states in per capita income.2

A look at the relative per capita income measure is enlightening. Te graph below charts Arkansassper capita income as a percentage o the United States average over time. I Arkansas per capita incomewere equal to the U.S. national average, that would be represented by 100 percent on the graph. By con-trast, i Arkansass per capita income stood at hal the national average, that would be represented by 50percent on the graph.



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Te data graphed below span the last 80 years o economic history. In the 1930s, per capita income inArkansas was approximately 40 percent o the national average. Stated another way, in the 1930s theaverage American had an income two and a hal times that o the average Arkansan. Fortunately, in theollowing decades, incomes in Arkansas steadily closed the gap with the national average. Tis progress

was even more remarkable when we consider that, during this period, the average national income wasalso steadily increasing; Arkansas was making rapid gains on a moving target because we were growingeven aster than the national average.

By the early 1970s, per capita incomes in Arkansas reached approximately 75 percent o the nationalaverage. Since that time, however, progress in narrowing the gap with the national average has beenpainully slow. oday, orty years later, while national average incomes have stagnated, so have Arkan-sass gains. Per capita income in Arkansas stands at around 80 percent o the national average. Tatmeans right now the average American has an income one-quarter higher than that o the averageArkansan. Bringing Arkansas to the national average would be the equivalent o giving every workingperson in our state a permanent, 25 percent increase in annual income.

Going orward, Arkansas has three distinct economic paths rom which to choose. We can either:

1. Get back on the trajectory we were once on closing the income gap that separates us rom therest o the country;

2. Accept the status quo, and try just to maintain the relative economic gains we have made in thelast 80 years; or

20

40

60

80

100

201020001990198019701960195019401930

We can get back o

Maintain the status

Or fall further behin

FIGURE ONE: Arkansans per capita personal income (as a percentage of U.S. average)

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce 3



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3. Give up completely on trying to compete in a 21st Century economy, oreit the progress wehave made, and all even urther behind the rest o the country.

We should choose the rst path to grow an economy that increases opportunity and prosperity or u-

ture generations o Arkansans while recognizing that signicant changes will be required to achieve it.

A Lesson from History -- The GI Bill

At the end o World War II, our American soldiers were returning home at a rate o nearly one mil-lion per month. Each veteran received a ew things upon their arrival including a physical exam, $50 incash, and a white piece o paper that said that their service to their country was over. One chaplain atFort Dix in New Jersey told our returning men and women, who had served so valiantly, ake it easy.Have condence in God. Help build a better America.4 And thats exactly what they did.

One reason they were able to build a better America was because the United States government made apromise to those veterans. In addition to a $50 bill and a physical, the government said, Were going tomake sure you get a good education because we owe it to you.

Te GI Bill o Rights, also known as Te Servicemens Readjustment Act o 1944, was signed into lawby President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Te bill gave veterans nancial support like unemployment insur-ance and easier access to home and business loans, but it also gave them a chance at a better education.Te GI Bill was a promise. I you served your country in the armed orces, the government would payor you to go to any school in the country.5

Historian Milton Greenberg, who wrote Te GI Bill: Te Law that Changed America, says one o

the main accomplishments o the bill was the establishment o the idea that higher education can andshould be available to all.

High school graduation was a rare achievement prior to World War II, Greenberg wrote. Millions omembers o the armed orces had not even graduated rom grammar school and many young Ameri-cans did not go beyond the 10th grade. In the 1940s, only 23 percent o the military had a high schooldiploma and about three percent had college degrees. By making it possible or the sons o armhandsand laborers to get a better education than they had ever dreamed o, the GI Bill gave widespread andpermanent credence to the idea that education is the pathway to a better job and a better lie.6

Because o the GI bill, the American economy grew at an unparalleled clip, into the strongest, mostinnovative in the world. Historian Ed Hume says the bill provided an education or some o Americasuture success stories who returned rom World War II. Te GI Bill provided the education or 14Nobel Prize winners, three Supreme Court justices, three presidents, a dozen senators, [and] two dozenPulitzer Prize winners Te scientists and engineers and teachers and thinkers who brought in theinormation age, who took us to the moon, who waged the cold war, you name it - all those men andwomen were educated through the GI Bill.7

Te percentage o American men graduating rom college doubled rom 10 percent to 20 percent overthe period rom 1945 to 1965 (or American women, the increase in college graduation rate over thisperiod was more modest through the early 1960s, but later the rate o increase among women exceeded



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that o men). As a result, economic growth and technological progress inthe United States over this period was the most rapid in our history.

And this all happened because our political leaders understood the im-portance o education and kept their promise to those men and womenwho had served their country. Perhaps the biggest lesson that the GI Billtaught us is that a comprehensive and well-structured investment in edu-cation is one o the smartest a society can make.

As with our nation as a whole, the surest initiative to move Arkansas or-ward is to dramatically improve the educational outcomes or our people.Tat is it. Nothing else comes close. Te 21st Century economy is a com-petitive one. Were not just competing against neighboring states. Werecompeting against oreign countries like China and India. Te best thingwe can do to improve the lives and opportunities o students in Helena-West Helena or Jonesboro or El Dorado is to train and strengthen whatsbetween their ears. Arkansas can become the unparalleled, nationwideleader in access to higher education. We can give every hard-working

Arkansas student the opportunity to go to college and prepare or the ac-celerating changes theyll ace in their careers.

Te simple truth is that i we dont make it easier or Arkansas students to go on to college, to have thatsense o upward mobility, ambition, aspiration, and hope, were essentially denying them part o theAmerican Dream. An essential part o the American dream is the idea that tomorrow can be betterthan today, that the uture we leave to our children should and will be better than what we had whenwe were growing up.

Te sad act is that most people are losing aith in the American Dream. According to a recent GallupPoll, nearly six in 10 Americans do not believe that the next generation will live better than their par-

ents. According to Gallup, Te idea o America as a place where citizens can rise above their economicposition at birth depends partly on an economic system that rewards people based on eort and merit not race, class, title, or other social barriers and partly on Americans willingness to make a seriouseort to succeed. Americans themselves currently have doubts about both aspects o that equation. 8

Te Pew Charitable rusts Economic Mobility Project released a study on the American Dream lastyear. At the heart o the study was the concept o upward mobility and the ideal that all Americanshave equality o opportunity regardless o their economic status at birth and that this is the crux othe American Dream and a dening element o our national psyche. And the results o their studyshow just how undamental a component education is to achieving that dream. Pew ound that some-one with a college degree was three times as likely to rise rom the bottom o amily income rankings tothe top as someone without one. Tey also ound that those who do not earn a degree are more likelyto all down the income ladder than those who go on to complete college.9

All these polls and all these studies use a lot o ink to spell out one basic, and troubling, theme apervasive diminishment o hope or the uture that we cannot allow to continue. An earned but cer-tain shot at a good education can help change that. We need to make sure our students believe in thepromise o tomorrow. Its that sense o hope that is going to push this state, our children, and our utureorward. In order to make it happen, we must make smart investments in our people.

PERHAPS THE BIGGESTLESSON THE GI BILLTAUGHT US IS THAT A

MASSIVE ANDWELL-STRUCTUREDINVESTMENT INEDUCATION IS ONE OFTHE SMARTEST A

SOCIETY CAN MAKE.



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AN INVESTMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION RETURNS FOR INDIVIDUALSDespite the clear lessons o our own history, some still doubt that education is the key ingredient o

success or individuals, Arkansas, and America. Lets look at what we know.

First, the acts could not be clearer: A good education leads to a better quality o lie. Te averageworker with a bachelors degree will earn $1 million more over the course o his or her lietime thanthe average worker with a high school diploma.10 You read that correctly: $1 million. When you lookat those kinds o numbers rom an investment standpoint, that means i we can invest $50,000 to makesure one student has the opportunity to go to and complete college, we can count on that investment toyield $1 million or that student. Tats $20 in higher income or every dollar we invest. As a business-man, I know a lot o investors who would take a 20:1 payo on their investment any day o the week.As a state, Arkansas should too. Figure wo, above, shows the dierences in income level according toeducation.

Te relationship between per capita income and educational attainment has only become stronger overtime. In 1980, the correlation between these two indicators, statistically, was .64, or what statisticianswould call a strong correlation. In 2008, that measure had increased to .80. o put that into perspec-tive, it means that where education was once an importantindicator o a persons income, now its theindicator o how much, or how little, a person can be expected to make.11

FIGURE TWO: LIFETIME EARNINGS ACCORDING TO EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT



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RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR THE ENTIRE STATEWhile its easy to see how one person can benet rom higher education, this is about much more thanany one individual. Tis is about all Arkansans. Education is not a zero-sum game. When someonewins by graduating rom a two-year or our-year institution, no one loses. In act, we all win. Eco-nomically, i our neighbors have higher incomes, then local businesses do better and their incomesrise as well. echnologically, i a scientist or engineer invents a new product and establishes a company,then new jobs can be created and consumers enjoy better products. Educationally, when Arkansas col-leges produce a new, well-trained teacher, then our young students get a better oundation. Medically,when a new doctor or nurse enters the health proession, we all benet.

O course, these examples are just common sense. However, the available data rom 50 states and acrossdecades overwhelmingly demonstrates that the overall educational level in a state drives the incomelevels o that state. As Figure Tree illustrates, median income levels in states are tightly tied to thepercentage o the adult population with a college degree and the income dierences are large. In stateswith higher percentages o bachelor degrees like New Jersey, Maryland, New Hampshire, Connecti-cut, and Maine median income hovers between $55,000 and $62,000 per year. When you look at theother end o the spectrum, its a dierent story entirely. Only 15 percent o West Virginians have collegedegrees and their median income is just above $30,000.

In addition, we know that the benets o a college education stretch ar beyond just higher incomes.

FIGURE THREE: Educational Attainment and Median Income Among the 50 States

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People who graduate rom college report better health outcomes, and this stretches rom 25-year-oldsto seniors. Teyre also less likely to end up on public assistance.12 A study by College Board, a non-prot that aims to make sure more students go to college, outlined the societal benets o higher educa-tion. Among their ndings:

Higher levels o education lead to lower unemployment and poverty rates. Te earnings o all workers are increased by the presence o college graduates in the workorce. College graduates have more positive perceptions o personal health and lead healthier lives. Higher levels o education lead to more civic participation, including voting and blood dona-

tion.13

Higher education levels can also help state budgets. Just look at incarceration rates according to educa-tion level. Nationally, one out o every ten high school dropouts ends up being incarcerated at somepoint in time. Compare that to one out o every 35 high school graduates and only one out o every100 college graduates.14 I you think that doesnt have a signicant impact on Arkansass budget, thinkagain. Te average annual cost per inmate in Arkansas in 2010 was $24,391.15 Te average annual costo college tuition at a our-year institution in this state or that same year was $5,788. 16 Again, i yourelooking at this rom an economic point o view, higher education couldnt be a better investment orour young people.

We need to do much better when it comes to making sure Arkansans graduate romcollege. According to a report by the Lumina Foundation, a private oundation

committed to expanding access to higher education, 28 percent o adults in Arkan-sas have a college degree. Tats 10 points behind the national average and plantsus rmly at number 49 o the 50 states in the country, ranking just ahead o WestVirginia and behind Mississippi. While college attainment in our state is graduallyincreasing, the rate o increase has been slow.

Why is this so critically important? Jobs, jobs, jobs. According to a 2011 survey ocorporate executives, availability o skilled labor was one o the most important ac-tors when it came to decisions on where to locate businesses. Availability o skilledlabor ranked above state corporate tax rate, state and local incentives, construction

costs, and government regulations. Te studys author concluded, whether rom renewed optimismin the economy, or a realization that talent cannot be ignored long-term, decision-makers have againelevated human capital above many cost actors.17 One thing is certain, 21st Century jobs are goingto require 21st Century educations. We have to prepare our current and uture work orce to meet thedemands o the new economy.

Tis has huge implications or the economic uture o our state. A Georgetown University study oundthat by 2018, more than hal o Arkansas jobs will require an education beyond a high school diploma whether a our-year degree, a two-year degree, or a career certication.18 In the decade between 2008

WE NEED TO DO MUCH BETTER WHEN ITCOMES TO MAKING SURE ARKANSANSGRADUATE FROM COLLEGE.

WHY IS THISSO CRITICALLYIMPORTANT?JOBS, JOBS,JOBS.



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and 2018, Arkansas is projected to generate about 419,000 jobopportunities the result o creating new jobs, worker retire-ments, and other actors. O these jobs, 217,000 will requiremore than a high school education. I Arkansas does not havea workorce that is prepared to ll these new jobs, the jobs will

simply go somewhere else.

Globalization, the subject o bestsellers like Te World is Flator Te Clash o Civilizations, is more than just a trendy buzz-word, its a reality or industry aer industry. Arkansas is notonly competing with exas, Mississippi, and ennessee ornew opportunities but with countries like India and China,too. Our students deserve the best chance to compete, but theU.S. is alling behind. U.S. students rank poorly on domes-tic and international math exams.19 Only six percent o U.S.students perormed at the advanced level on an international

exam administered in 56 countries in 2006. Tats compared to 28 percent o aiwanese students and atleast 20 percent o students in Hong Kong, Korea, and Finland.20

Arkansas is not alone in our need to take serious steps to close this achievement gap; how we choose toace this challenge, as Arkansans and Americans, will likely determine the economic trajectory o ourstate, and our country, or generations to come. As a country, weve underinvested in education, anddisinvested in higher education, while competition or opportunities to work and prosper grows steadi-ly stronger. Americas share o the degreed global workorce is declining, while in China and India just two o our many global competitors these shares are growing. Between 1978 and 2006, Chinaincreased spending on social investments including education by a staggering 5,800% rom less than

$2 billion to $117 billion. In 2007, or the rst time in history, there were more Chinese graduates withdegrees in the elds o science, technology, engineering and math than American graduates.

As o 2008, India had quadrupled its investment in education over the late 1980s, and the number oIndian university graduates with science and math degrees has tripled in the last seven years. 21 Temost successul emerging economies have already determined that an all-in approach to higher educa-tion investment is the open secret to bringing skilled, high-paying jobs, and prosperity to their coun-tries. And it is working or them: From 2010 to 2015 it is projected that the size o the middle class inChina and India will more than quadruple.22

oday, the pace o technological change is aster than it has ever been in history. Knowledge and data

are being generated at unprecedented and accelerating rates. Tis should be great news or our country.For generations, rapid innovations in science, engineering, and cutting-edge technologies have beenAmericas bread and butter, our uncontested strength. But today, China and South Korea - just twoexamples - are granting engineering degrees at ve times the rate o the U.S., and producing universityresearch that in some cases is more advanced than our own.

Americas competitors are working to gain the upper hand in this data-driven, knowledge-based neweconomy, while in the U.S. it is only getting more dicult or young people to pursue higher educa-tions. High unemployment, stagnant incomes, and a shrinking middle class are not reasons to pull backon our investments in higher education - rather, they are signs that we need to make it a top priority.

HOW WE CHOOSE TO FACE THISCHALLENGE, AS ARKANSANS,

AND AMERICANS, WILL LIKELYDETERMINE THE ECONOMICTRAJECTORY OF OUR STATE, ANDOUR COUNTRY, FOR GENERATIONSTO COME.



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WHATS HOLDING US BACK?One o the major impediments to college attendance is tuition costs. As Figures Four and Five show, orthe last 50 years, tuition has climbed aster than the rate o infation and aster than the annual incomeo middle-class amilies. At the same time, general revenue support or higher education rom stategovernments has gone down, placing more costs on students.

FIGURE FOUR

FIGURE FIVE


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According to a report rom the Arkansas Bureau o Legislative Research, average tuition and ees orour-year institutions in Arkansas rose 87 percent between the 2000-2001 and 2009-2010 school years(rom $3,088 to $5,788). Te increase at two-year institutions during the same time period was 91percent. (See Figure Six.) Since 2001, the balance between what the state pays higher education institu-tions and what students pay in tuition has shied. Te share o state unding has gone rom 66 percentto 60, while the share made up by tuition has gone rom 34 percent to 40.26 (See Figure Seven.)

FIGURE SIX: College Tuition Increases in Arkansas

FIGURE SEVEN: Comparison of the Proportion of Per Student Costs and Actual Funding Levels


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Tat same report concluded: Increasing the num-ber o baccalaureate degree holders will requiremaking college aordable. Te lottery scholar-ships and expansion o other existing scholarshipprograms are important rst steps in reachingthat goal. Care should be taken to ensure that ris-ing tuition costs do not negate the advantage the

scholarships create or low- and middle-incomestudents.29

A college education is not something that shouldbe so ar out o reach nancially or our students.A November 2012 poll by Gallup and the LuminaFoundation ound that 72 percent o Americans be-lieve that having a certicate or degree beyond highschool was very important. Over 65 percent saidan education beyond high school was an impor-tant actor in getting a good job and making more

money. Tose are about the results you would ex-pect to see. However, 74 percent o those surveyedsaid that they did not believe higher education wasaordable or everyone who needs it. Nearly threequarters o Americans think a college education isout o reach. Tat number is way too high.30

Te rising cost o higher education is a problemall over the country, but its an especially criti-cal problem or Arkansas as we strive to rapidlyadvance. As costs continue to grow, the ability oArkansas amilies to pay or college diminishes.Arkansas ranks 49 out o 51 (thats every state plusWashington D.C.) in median houshold income andthe state ranks h in the number o people livingbelow the ederal poverty level (just over $23,000or a amily o our). A college education is simplynancially out o the question or many o our highschool graduates without assistance. We have tomake sure more o our students have the opportu-nity to get a higher education and we cant continue

to let our young people take out huge amounts ostudent loans to do it.

In Arkansas, 56 percent o our students leave col-lege with an average o $23,000 in student loandebt.31 According to a recent report by the FederalReserve Bank o New York, in the third quarter olast year, the US added $23 billion in new studentloan debt (See Figures Eight and Nine). Whatsworse is that the 90-day delinquency rate on those

FIGURE EIGHT: Student Debt (in billions) 1977 - 2010

FIGURE NINE: Student Debt Growth Since 1999


32

33


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loans rose to 11 percent while delinquency rates on othertypes o loans went down. Tis kind o debt doesnt aect just

recent grads but also other parts o the economy, as well. Stu-dents who can barely make their payments oen put o otheractivities like buying a car or house, getting married andhaving kids. High unemployment also adds to the problemby keeping young workers on the sidelines even as their debtscontinue to accrue interest.34

WHAT HAVE WE DONE?During my campaign or lieutenant governor in 2006, I made

a commitment to the people o Arkansas that they wouldhave the opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment

to authorize a state lottery dedicated to scholarships or Arkansas residents. Tere were people whosaid it couldnt be done, but in 2009, Arkansas became the rst state with a lottery where a ull 100 per-cent o the net proceeds were dedicated to unding scholarships or Arkansans who enroll in public andprivate two-year and our-year colleges and universities in our state.

Recipients included both recent high school graduates and non-traditional students returning tonish their degrees. o date, the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery has raised over $300 million toward thescholarship und, and awarded nearly 100,000 scholarships. Te scholarship program has exceeded

expectations. Many students who never considered college an option are now pursuing opportunitiesto achieve a better uture or themselves and their amilies, while at the same time improving the eco-nomic prospects o their communities and our entire state.

One day a couple years ago I was in Sheridan at a convenience store gassing up the truck. A youngman, probably in his early 30s, was there with his son, who looked to be 5 or 6 years old. As I walkedinto the gas station he introduced himsel and said thank you or the scholarship program. And Isaid, Well its $20,000 or your son to go to college. He smiled and said, you dont understand, Ivegot six kids. Tats $120,000 or my amily.

As I drove home, I thought about that man and his amily. I would be willing to bet that he, and a lot o

other hard-working amilies, would nd it dicult to save enough money to send one child to college,much less six. But all o the sudden, it was a possibility or his amily. His children now had the hope ogoing to college.

Te scholarship program has been an unambiguous success. In the rst year o the lottery scholarship,reshman enrollment o Arkansas students at the University o Arkansas at Fayetteville increased by33 percent. wo years in, reshman enrollment o Arkansas students at the University o Arkansas atFayetteville had increased by 50 percent rom the pre-lottery scholarship period.

THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO SAID ITCOULDNT BE DONE, BUT IN 2009,

ARKANSAS BECAME THE FIRSTSTATE WITH A LOTTERY WHEREA FULL 100 PERCENT OF THE NETPROCEEDS WERE DEDICATED TOFUNDING SCHOLARSHIPS FOR

ARKANSANS.



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Te Lottery Scholarship has been so successul that the actualstudent demand or the scholarship has exceeded the initial

estimates made by the Legislature. Because existing resourcesare being utilized to und a larger number o scholarships thanpredicted, the dollar amounts o the scholarship or each indi-vidual student have been reduced.

Now, I happen to think thats the wrong approach rom a business perspective. Most businesspeopleI know will tell you that when a high-return investment is working, you should put more resources towork, not less. We know that an investment in sending a young person to college will produce a 20:1return on that investment, raising their lietime incomes by $1 million, helping them stay here andmake it in Arkansas, and attracting companies with high-paying jobs or others, as well. We know thatevery Arkansas student who can take advantage o this opportunity is applying him- or hersel to doing

so, and, as a result, were seeing increased demand or this investment. Given all that, why would wepossibly cut back on this great economic investment? Instead, we should nish the job and eliminatethe cost impediment to college or all our students.

We can make Arkansas the undisputed leader in access to higher education in America i we decide tomake a bold investment. We can and we should - give every Arkansas high school student the oppor-tunity to attend college i they earn it.

WHATS WORKING -- TWO ARKANSAS EXAMPLESWe know this kind o investment will pay o. In act, its already making a signicant impact or twocommunities in Arkansas that have taken bold eorts to make a college education a reality or theiryoung people. Business and community leaders in El Dorado and Arkadelphia are demonstrating whathappens when we invest in the education o our young people. Because o the El Dorado Promise andthe Arkadelphia Promise, more high school students rom these communities have the opportunityto make the most o their God-given talents. Te reason they decided to make that investment? Teyknow whats at stake. Tey know the economy is becoming more competitive and the only way to com-pete is to improve the education and skill-level o their respective workorces.35

The El Dorado Promise

In El Dorado, a $50 million dollar investment by Fortune-500 Company Murphy Oil established the ElDorado Promise Scholarship in 2007. Te El Dorado Promise is a commitment to cover all tuition orgraduating seniors o the El Dorado school district to attend an accredited institution o higher educa-tion with a goal o 90 percent participation.36 In the years since it was introduced, El Dorado has seenpositive trends in enrollment, test scores, drop-out rates, and graduation rates. In the very rst yearalone, 205 out o 260 graduating seniors (79 percent) signed up or the Promise scholarship program,an 18 percent increase in college-bound seniors over the prior year.37 Ninety one percent o Promise-eligible graduates rom the class o 2012 attended college and 91 percent o those students completed atleast one year.38

WE KNOW THAT AN INVESTMENTIN SENDING A YOUNG PERSON TO

COLLEGE WILL PRODUCE A 20:1RETURN ON THAT INVESTMENT.



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More children are attending El Dorado public schools. Enrollment increased by 140 students (three

percent) or the 2007-2008 school year, reversing a 20-year downward trend in the school system. 39Kindergarten enrollment or the 2007-2008 school year increased nearly 12 percent.40 Students are try-ing harder, becoming more and more ocused on college. Since the promise was made, there has been asteady increase in the number o students who score a passing grade or above on Advanced Placement(AP) tests.41 Te school district has also shown that seventh and eighth grade students are scoringhigher than their peers in math and literacy on the Arkansas Benchmark Exams.42

Te El Dorado Promise is having an impact on the entire community. A h o the students who go tocollege as a result o this program are staying in El Dorado to attend SouthArk Community College. 43Te housing market has also improved. Home sales in the county went up our percent in contrastwith a statewide decrease and the value o El Dorado homes surpassed the statewide average. 44 Fami-

lies are moving to El Dorado rom all over the country, 31 states in act. Families have also come rom13 oreign countries to attend the school.45

Te percentage o El Dorado high school graduates who go on to college has increased more than 20percent since 2007.46 Te number o high school graduates who enroll in college exceeds both the stateand national rates. Whats more, the scholarship is changing lives and building utures: almost a quartero recipients are rst-generation college students. Tose are incredible statistics. All o this has hap-pened because one company put $2.5 million a year to work or 20 years and as a result theyre accom-plishing more in the way o economic development or that community than you could have accom-plished by spending $50 million in any other way.47

The Arkadelphia PromiseTe Arkadelphia Promise was launched in 2010 with undingrom local oundations and guarantees to pay the dierence,or gap, between the dollar amount o the Lottery Scholarshipand the amount o the highest tuition and ees charged by anArkansas public college or university. Te scholarship can beused or tuition at any accredited two-year or our-year public orprivate college or university in Arkansas.48 By lling the gap innancing above the Lottery Scholarship with ederal grants anda supplementary scholarship unded by the Arkadelphia ounda-

tions, the Arkadelphia Promise ensures that students who earnthe grades can attend college with their ull tuition paid.

Aer the rst semester o the Promises existence, 90 percent o the students met the requirements tokeep it. In the rst year, 74 percent (or 91 out o 123) Arkadelphia High School graduates attended col-lege. Tat was an increase o 12 percent rom the year beore. In the all o 2012, 63 o those original 90students returned or their sophomore year, a retention rate o 70 percent.49 By way o comparison, theretention rate or all Arkansas students rom reshman to sophomore year is 61 percent (the national

[THE ARKADELPHIA PROMISE]HAS LED TO AN INCREASE INSTANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONSAT THE HIGH SCHOOL.



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rate is 67 percent).50 Like El Dorado, Arkadelphia High Schoolalso saw an increase in enrollment aer the programs launch.Enrollment or all o 2011 edged up almost two percent aer

having dropped 18 percent over the previous 15 years.

Arkadelphia Superintendent Donnie Whitten says the scholar-ship has done more than help students go on to college. It hasled to an increase in standards and expectations at the highschool. Our goal is to produce students who have every tool,and are prepared in every way possible, to be successul in lieaer high school, Whitten said. For those graduates whopursue a college degree, the things they need most are academicortitude to make the grades and nancial assistance to pay the

bills. We are one o very ew districts that do both.51

Even or students receiving nancial aid, the ununded gap now covered by the Arkadelphia Prom-ise was oen too great o a burden or students and their amilies to bear while attempting to pursuea ull-time course o education. Relieving that burden and, or many, the uncertainty o whether andhow they will pay or next semesters tuition, is enabling more students to see their educational goalsthrough to completion.

Te goal o the Arkadelphia Promise scholarship was to increase the college-going rate or local stu-dents, reduce the number o students dropping out o college or nancial reasons, and provide or amore educated workorce.52 Community leaders say its working, and leaders in other parts o the state

have visited Arkadelphia with hopes o replicating the program. Forty o the 63 students who returnedto college or their sophomore years are going to schools in or close to Arkadelphia, like HendersonState University, Ouachita Baptist University, UACC-Hope, and College o the Ouachitas in Malvern.53A large, college-educated workorce will make Arkadelphia a more attractive community in which tolocate a thriving business.

Both the El Dorado Promise and the Arkadelphia Promise have demonstrated that i you oer tangiblehope, i you oer somebody the chance at a better lie, it actually transorms not just that student andhis or her amily, but it also can improve entire communities.

A PROMISE FOR ARKANSASImagine what Arkansans could achieve i hard work and perseverance not insurmountable costs andstrangling debt were the only things standing between our students and a college degree. We needmore students in the pipeline rom high school to college to meet the demands o a global economy.We know how to do it and we even have a blueprint. Te El Dorado Promise and the ArkadelphiaPromise have worked or those communities. El Dorado and Arkadelphia have demonstrated that thepromise o education beyond high school is a promise that can be kept with tremendous benets, ornot only or their young people, but or their entire communities.

IF YOU OFFER SOMEBODY THE

CHANCE AT A BETTER LIFE, ITACTUALLY TRANSFORMS NOTJUST THAT STUDENT AND HIS ORHER FAMILY, BUT IT ALSO CANIMPROVE ENTIRE COMMUNITIES



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When something works, do more o it. We can make a promise to all Arkansas students, regardless otheir amilys ability to pay.

Simply stated, i you go to high school in Arkansas, qualiy or a lottery scholarship, maintain a 2.5GPA and plan to attend college in the state, we promise to pay your college tuition. Te overall scholar-

ship level would be set at the tuition level o the highest cost our-year public university in Arkansas.And we will pay or this investment without raising taxes, by combining the Lottery Scholarship, ed-eral grant aid, philanthropic support, and additional Arkansas scholarship unds. In order to keep theimplementation simple, the eligibility requirements will mirror those o the Lottery Scholarship.

A SMART INVESTMENT

College Going Rates for Arkansas Public School Graduates, 2010 Fall Term First-Time Enrollment

Number First Time College Students PercentFour-Year Universities (AR) 9,017 31.2%

wo-Year Universities (AR) 5,003 17.3%

Private Institutions (AR) 942 3.3%

All Arkansas Institutions 14,962 51.7%

Not Attending College in AR 13,977 48.3%

otal Arkansas High School Graduates 28,939

FIGURE TEN

Te Arkansas Promise will cost the state approximately $50 to $75 million per year when ully phased-in. As major initiatives go, this is a minor expense compared to the benets it will create or our state.Just to give you an idea o the size o investment were talking about, state general und spending isnearly $5 billion (total state unding is even higher), so this program represents roughly one percent ospending.

As a candidate or Governor in 2006, Governor Mike Beebe promised to eliminate the sales tax on gro-ceries. He has been able to reduce the tax over time to 1.5 percent. Te total cost o this change in staterevenue has been approximately $120 million a year roughly double the cost o unding the ArkansasPromise. Gov. Beebe has been able to pay or this through normal revenue growth. We can do the samewith the Arkansas Promise. Tis unding dedicated to sending our students to college is an investment



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in our own people that will lead to urther economic and revenue growth down the road.

In 2011, nearly 52 percent o the 28,939 Arkansas high school graduates went directly to college thenext academic term 31 percent enrolled at public our-year universities in Arkansas and 17 percent attwo-year colleges in Arkansas. (See Figure en.)

In 2011, annual tuition or ull-time enrollment at public universities in Arkansas ranged rom $1,872to $7,554.54 uition at two-year or community colleges ranged rom $1,416 to $2,752. Te average tu-ition paid by Arkansas college students in 2011 was $4,080.

Te Arkadelphia Promise uses a cost projection model based on assumptions about how much aidstudents already qualiy to receive (through Pell Grants and the existing Lottery Scholarship). Teircost projection model also takes into consideration predicted annual growth in class size, and student

attrition rates.

Using those same assumptions, a statewide Arkansas Promise would ramp up to additional scholarshipspending o approximately $50 million per year aer being ully phased in year 5 at current in-statecollege enrollment levels and current distribution between two- and our-year colleges.

Realistically, however, we can expect and want the availability o the Promise Scholarship to result inhigher college enrollment percentages. Since the introduction o the El Dorado Promise in 2007, thepercentage o high school graduates who go on to college has increased more than 20 percent. Project-ing a 20 percent increase in attendance with the model yields an annual increase o less than $75 mil-

lion in additional scholarship unding required.

Normal general revenue growth alone should more than cover the cost o the Arkansas Promise.However, in the highly unlikely event that revenue growth is insucient there are other ways to pay orthis investment without raising taxes. Let me make clear: I believe the answer to our challenges is notincreasing aggregate spending; rather, it is shiing our spending priorities to the highest return invest-ments that pay dividends to our state over the long-term. Increasing the numbers o Arkansans whocan go on to higher education is a high-return investment. Not only can we aord to make this invest-ment, i we want to improve our competitiveness in the global economy we cant aord not to make it.

THE TIME IS NOWArkansas can make unprecedented strides in education. We know how to do it. We know what works.We just have to invest. Te choice is straightorward. We can choose to remain 49th, or slip back into50th, or we can choose to move orward rapidly and compete even more eectively in a global econo-my. We can choose to let events dictate outcomes to us or we can prepare our people to adapt to rapidchange by leading the way in access to higher education in America.



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We have, as a country, long believed that this is the land where everybody gets a shot, no matter where

you come rom. We believe that in America, more than any other country in the world, i you workhard you can achieve a better lie. Tats an aspiration, a part o the American dream. But i we areto realize that dream, we have to understand that access to a high-quality education will determinewhether or not Arkansas will be competitive in a global economy. Access to higher education will de-termine whether or not our children live up to their God-given potential.

I believe that we ought to be a society where everyone has the chance to live up to that potential. Wecant guarantee that everyone will succeed, but we can guarantee that everyone will have an opportunityto succeed i they work hard and theyre responsible. Te Arkansas Promise tells every amily and everychild in Arkansas that i you work hard, i you study, i you make the grades, this opportunity will bethere or you. Every Arkansas childs uture will be less dependent on the income level o their parents

and more dependent upon their own will and determination. We hear politicians talk all the time aboutthe importance o education. Well, lets do more than just talk about it.

Giving every Arkansas student the chance to go to college is a loy goal, but an attainable one. Its alsoexactly the kind o dramatic investment we have to make to improve the quality o lie or our citizens.O course, this isnt ree and it wont be easy. Im convinced this is one o the best investments we canmake as a state. Weve already made a substantial down payment on this investment thanks to the Lot-tery Scholarship. Te additional cost can be met without raising taxes.

Lets make an investment. Lets make a promise to all o our children that we will do everything we can

to make sure the world we give them is better than the one we had. Lets give them the promise o theAmerican Dream.



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NOTES1 http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/schmidt-data/ (remarks in 2011, by then Google CEO Eric Schmidt).2 For latest numbers (2010), see http://www.inoplease.com/ipa/A0104652.html. And see HE SAISICAL ABSRACOF HE UNIED SAES 2008, http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/ranks/rank29.html3 Bureau o Economic Analysis. Last updated September 2012.4 From Te Century, by Peter Jennings and odd Brewster.5 http://www.america.gov/st/educ-english/2008/April/20080423213340eaias0.8454951.html6 http://www.america.gov/st/educ-english/2008/April/20080423213340eaias0.8454951.html7 http://www.marketplace.org/topics/economy/how-gi-bill-changed-economy8 http://www.gallup.com/poll/155021/majority-dissatised-next-generation-prospects.aspx9 http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Economic_Mobility/Pursuing_American_Dream.pd10 www.cew.georgetown.edu/collegepayo11 http://www.texasgbc.org/pds/GBC_Higher%20Education.pd

12 http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_ino/trends/ed_pays_2007.pd13 http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_ino/trends/ed_pays_2007.pd14 http://www.philebrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/EducationvsIncarceration_4c527e963159.jpg15 http://www.vera.org/les/price-o-prisons-arkansas-act-sheet.pd16 http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/education/HigherEd/BLR%20Reports/Factors%20Infuencing%20the%20Rising%20Cost%20o%20uition%20in%20Arkansas.pd17 http://www.areadevelopment.com/AnnualReports/Winter2012/corporate-survey-analysis-Paul-Hampton-211828.shtml18 http://cew.georgetown.edu/jobs2018/states/19 http://www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/PDF/Papers/PEPG11-03_GloballyChallenged.pd20 http://www.hungtonpost.com/joanne-jacobs/us-lags-in-top-math-stude_b_783155.html21 http://www.asianscientist.com/academia/asian-investment-education-center-or-american-progress-2012/.22 Middle Class in India and China is measured here as the number o households with incomes o at least US$10,000.Economist Intelligence Unit; Citi Investment Research and Analysis. c. http://www.milkeninstitute.org/presentations/

slides/SingaporeAsiaCenter2012-Asian%20Capital%20Markets.pd.23 http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42834.html.24 http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/a-mortgage-every-college-graduation-student-debt-to-stife-home-buying/.25 http://hipcrime.blogspot.com/2012/04/generation-debt.html.26 http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/education/HigherEd/BLR%20Reports/Factors%20Infuencing%20the%20Rising%20Cost%20o%20uition%20in%20Arkansas.pd27 http://www.adhe.edu/SiteCollectionDocuments/Institutional%20Finance%20Division%20and%20Fees/Sch%2018-1%202009-10%20uition%20and%20Fees.pd.28 Dr. Joe Marks, Southern Regional Education Board.29 http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/education/HigherEd/BLR%20Reports/Factors%20Infuencing%20the%20Rising%20Cost%20o%20uition%20in%20Arkansas.pd30 http://www.gallup.com/poll/160298/americans-say-postsecondary-degree-vital-barriers.aspx31 http://money.cnn.com/interactive/p/college/student-debt-map/?iid=EL

32 http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/a-mortgage-every-college-graduation-student-debt-to-stife-home-buying/.33 http://hipcrime.blogspot.com/2012/04/generation-debt.html.34 http://business.time.com/2012/11/29/is-the-student-loan-debt-crisis-worse-than-we-thought/35 http://www.areadevelopment.com/AnnualReports/Winter2012/26th-Corporate-Executive-RE-survey-results-287123.shtml?Page=236 http://www.eldoradopromise.com/pdf/ElDoradoPromiseImpact2013.pdf37 http://www.uvu.edu/woodbury/jbi/volume7/journals/jbi_v7_Murphy%20Oil%20and%20the%20El%20Dorado%20Promise.pdf38 http://www.eldoradopromise.com/pd/ElDoradoPromiseImpact2013.pd39 http://www.uvu.edu/woodbury/jbi/volume7/journals/jbi_v7_Murphy%20Oil%20and%20the%20El%20Dorado%20Promise.pd40 http://www.uvu.edu/woodbury/jbi/volume7/journals/jbi_v7_Murphy%20Oil%20and%20the%20El%20Dorado%20



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Promise.pd41 http://www.eldoradopromise.com/pd/ElDoradoPromiseImpact2012.pd42 http://www.eldoradopromise.com/pd/ElDoradoPromiseImpact2013.pd43 http://www.eldoradopromise.com/pd/ElDoradoPromiseImpact2012.pd

44 http://www.eldoradopromise.com/about/history.aspx45 http://www.eldoradopromise.com/pd/PromiseImpact2010.pd46 http://www.eldoradopromise.com/parents/Welcome.aspx47 http://arkadelphiapromise.com/ahs-class-o-2011-college-retention-rates-above-state-national-averages/48 http://arkadelphiapromise.com/students-parents/49 http://arkadelphiapromise.com/arkadelphia-promise-achieves-90-percent-retention-with-reshman-class/50 http://arkadelphiapromise.com/ahs-class-o-2011-college-retention-rates-above-state-national-averages/51 http://arkadelphiapromise.com/ahs-class-o-2011-college-retention-rates-above-state-national-averages/52 http://arkadelphiapromise.com/53 http://arkadelphiapromise.com/

54 http://collegestats.org/colleges/arkansas/lowest-instate-tuition