UA Little Rock Celebrates City of Little Rock as 50th Corporate Partner, Addition of Graduate Classes to Program

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock is continuing to expand educational opportunities for central Arkansas employees with the addition of the university’s 50th corporate partner as well as the expansion of graduate classes to the program. 

“The Corporate Partnership Program is how companies in Arkansas can expect more by partnering with UA Little Rock,” said Dr. Cody Decker, vice chancellor for student affairs and chief data officer. “The program’s stellar success illustrates how UA Little Rock responds to Arkansas’s workforce needs and partners with businesses to deliver their employees affordable, flexible, and quality educational offerings.”

UA Little Rock is proud to announce the City of Little Rock has joined UA Little Rock as its 50th corporate partner. The city’s approximately 2,500 employees will be eligible for many great educational benefits at UA Little Rock. These include a 10-percent scholarship on tuition and fees, a $25-per-credit-hour book scholarship, and a waived application fee. City of Little Rock employees can also take advantage of tuition reimbursement of up to $2,000 a year through the city’s Employee Assistance Program.

“Little Rock’s university works with the City in so many important and tangible ways, it just makes sense to enhance collaboration through the Corporate Partnership Program,” said Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott, Jr., an alumnus of UA Little Rock’s graduate school and MBA program. “This is another valuable benefit for our team members who now have a great, new incentive to enroll at UA Little Rock and continue their educational and professional development journeys. We appreciate Dr. Drale, Dr. Berry, everyone at the university, and partners across the community.”

UA Little Rock is celebrating the milestone of having 50 corporate partners by expanding the program to include graduate programs as well as undergraduate programs. This means that central Arkansas employees can further their careers and enhance their skills by pursuing graduate certificates and degrees at UA Little Rock.

“Technology is changing the employment landscape at an incredible pace. As a result, employees need to periodically refresh and add to their existing skill set,” said Dr. Brian Berry, dean of the Graduate School at UA Little Rock. “This corporate partnership program will allow these employees to add these needed skills through graduate level courses and credentials. This program will continue to enhance the central Arkansas workforce leading to significant advantages for these corporations as well as increased economic development in our community.”

Organizations who join UA Little Rock’s Corporate Partners Program will receive many educational benefits for their employees at no cost to the company. In addition to the City of Little Rock, other great organizations who have joined the program in 2024 include ACCESS Group, Inc., Arkansas Heart Hospital, Cache River Security, CDI Contractors, eSTEM Public Charter Schools, Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas, Landmark CPAs, Little Rock Zoo, Unity Health, and Yellow Rocket Concepts.

UA Little Rock’s latest corporate partnerships follow partnerships with other great central Arkansas employers that provide opportunities for working adults to earn a college education, including Arkansas Federal Credit Union, Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority, ATG/Applied Tech Group, North Little Rock School District, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, CHI St. Vincent, Saline Memorial Hospital, Arkansas Surgical Hospital, and Amazon.

More than 24,500 people in Arkansas’s workforce are eligible to receive educational benefits at UA Little Rock through the Corporate Partners Program. Nearly 200 people are taking advantage of these scholarships for the spring, summer, and fall semesters. This shows an over 50 percent increase in enrollment in the program from the 2022-23 school year to the 2023-24 school year.

UA Little Rock corporate partner employees interested in this educational opportunity may visit https://ualr.edu/admissions/corporate for more information. Companies interested in becoming a UA Little Rock corporate partner should email Matthew Bellew, corporate partnerships coordinator, at [email protected].