Established: 1928
Joined System: 2002
Enrollment: 7,154
Phone: (479) 788-7000
At a Glance:
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith (ҴýFS) was created in 1928 as citizens responded to the need to establish an institution of higher education to improve the local workforce. ҴýFS continues that tradition today as a regional university with a mission and vision to connect education with careers and a focus on preparing students to succeed in an ever-changing global world while advancing economic development and quality of place.
ҴýFS is renewing the focus on workforce development. By offering certificates and two- and four-year degree programs, students are being prepared for careers in the “real world” in traditional and cutting-edge technological fields such as robotics, information science technology, and cyber security. New degrees, such as a program focusing on the latest relational database management systems, are being developed to keep pace with changing business and industry needs.
Points of Pride
- ҴýFS awarded bachelor’s degrees to 697 students in 2012-13, an increase of 11.2% from 2011-12. A majority of these graduates remain in the area, positively impacting the local workforce and economic growth of the Arkansas River Valley.
- Eighty seven percent of ҴýFS graduates in the 2011-12 academic year gained employment or sought to continue their educations following graduation.
- ҴýFS is in the midst of the process to change the University’s role and scope. The first proposed master’s degree is an online program in health care administration.
- ҴýFS unveiled an ambitious 20-year campus master plan in 2014. Ground has broken on a new visual arts building which will open to students in fall 2015, and a new student recreation and wellness center will be built in 2015.
- Generous support from an expanding base of alumni and friends has helped ҴýFS build an endowment in excess of $57 million, with total assets equaling close to $90 million.
- The College of Business achieved accreditation from AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.