ACC Connections September 2026

ACC CONNECTIONS SEPTEMBER 2026

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT ACC

ACC WORKFORCE STAFF MEETING

Pictured: Kyla Waters, Marcus Orf (Ozarka), Dr. Jessica Freeman (UACCM)

ACC's Kyla Waters recently held a Workforce Staff Meeting, covering key updates and current priorities, including statewide workforce system changes and the No Wrong Door Model, employer engagement, Workforce Pell and the Demand Occupation Dashboard, workforce grant updates, and ACC Conference updates. Thank you to everyone who participated and contributed to the conversation!

ACC ANNOUNCES WEBINAR WITH BE PRO BE PROUD

Are you looking to connect with students interested in CTE programs? (ACC Webinar, Sept. 21)

This fall, the Be Pro Be Proud (BPBP) mobile workshop is heading to high schools across Arkansas, and ACC wants to help you get involved. An initiative of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, BPBP is reshaping how middle and high school students see skilled trades. Through hands-on, interactive experiences in fields like welding, electrical work, and commercial truck driving, the program is building real excitement among students around these careers. This past spring alone, more than 12,000 students took part. Join ACC via Zoom on September 21 to learn more about the initiative and how your college can participate.

Who should attend? Recruiters, Career Coaches, CTE Faculty, Secondary Career Center Staff, PLUS anyone with an interest in recruiting high school students into technical programs. Please share this invitation broadly on your campus with anyone who may be interested.

When? September 21st at 10:30 a.m. Via Zoom (pre-registration required)

Be Pro Be Proud Homepage: https://ar.beprobeproud.org/

ACC AND TAILWIND PARTNER FOR WEBINAR SERIES

ACC is excited to announce two new AI-focused webinars in partnership with Tailwind. These practical sessions will explore how higher-ed professionals can use AI tools more effectively and how AI is changing the way institutional content is discovered and used online.

Join us to gain practical insights, real-world examples, and strategies you can apply to your work right away.

September 9th - 12-1 pm: The AI Agent Is Browsing: How AI Finds, Interprets, and Uses Your Web Content

AI is becoming a new kind of web audience. In this webinar, we’ll explore how AI crawlers and agents discover, interpret, and use higher-ed web content. You’ll learn what AI traffic data reveals, why MCP servers matter, and practical ways to make institutional content more discoverable and useful to AI tools.
For: Higher-ed marketing, communications, web, SEO, recruitment, and IT professionals.
Registration

September 14th - 12-1 pm: Getting the Most Out of Microsoft Copilot

Tailwind will demonstrate practical ways college employees can use Microsoft Copilot to save time, automate repetitive tasks, analyze data, create visuals, and streamline everyday work. You’ll explore real higher-ed examples and learn how to use Copilot effectively while considering accuracy, privacy, security, and human judgment.
For: College employees at any experience level—no advanced AI knowledge required.
Registration

About Tailwind

Tailwind is an AI research and advisory firm specializing in helping college leaders understand how AI is showing up across their institutions and make informed decisions about strategy, operations, training and organizational readiness. Tailwind will also be hosting two AI sessions at the 2026 ACC Conference. We hope to see you there, too!

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION SELF-SERVICE GUIDE

The ACC conference website now features a self-service guide to help you navigate registrations and payments. Access the guide here.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT MEMBER COLLEGES

FIVE COLLEGES NAMED IN TOP 250 VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS

The recently released rankings by USA TODAY were judged on five primary metrics: graduation rate, graduates’ salary, years required to pay off net cost, social mobility, and diversity.

USA TODAY’s recognition of short-term training programs and vocational education as the fastest-growing postsecondary credentials reflects a significant shift toward accessible, career-focused learning pathways. Identifying top-performing schools has been challenging due to inconsistent and unclear research surrounding vocational education, especially for programs lasting only a few months. The new rankings list was created to assist students in finding the right vocational schools.

Arkansas Community Colleges in the Top 250 Include:

Arkansas Northeastern College

Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas

Southern Arkansas University Tech

University of Arkansas East Arkansas Community College

University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana

ASUMH ANNOUNCES DR. ROGER SIMONS PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP

The Dr. Roger Simons Promise Scholarship is a transformative investment that will expand access to higher education for graduates of Cotter, Flippin, Norfork and Yellville-Summit High Schools.

Beginning with the 2027 graduating classes, eligible students who choose to attend ASUMH will receive scholarship support covering remaining tuition and mandatory fees after federal, state and institutional financial aid has been applied.

The scholarship will support students pursuing associate degrees, workforce certificates, technical programs and transfer pathways- helping students turn their goals into careers while strengthening the workforce and communities of North Central Arkansas.

UA COSSATOT AND ARMY NATIONAL GUARD PARTNER

Representatives from UA Cossatot and the Arkansas Army National Guard gathered at the UA Cossatot De Queen Campus to sign a memorandum of agreement establishing a new partnership focused on creating more opportunities for our students.

Through this partnership, the Arkansas National Guard will establish a career resource office on campus and provide students with access to leadership and mentorship opportunities, tuition assistance, scholarship guidance, information about National Guard service and benefits, and potential academic credit for qualifying military training.

“We’ve been trying for this for many years,” said UA Cossatot Chancellor Dr. Steve Cole. “We think that it’s good for the college, and we think that it’s good for our students to be able to see that there are some extremely wonderful benefits of serving in the National Guard.”

Brig. Gen. Michael Henderson, director of joint staff for the Arkansas National Guard, described the agreement as an investment in Arkansas students and the future prosperity of our state.

UAPTC LAUNCHES YOUTHBUILD BRIDGE

UA-Pulaski Tech officially launched YouthBuild BRIDGE at Providence Park in Mabelvale.

Empowering Youth: 66 local young adults (ages 18–24) will earn a paycheck while completing their high school equivalency diplomas and gaining high-demand certifications (NCCER, OSHA, and NCRC).
Closing the Skills Gap: Creating a reliable pipeline of job-ready, safety-conscious talent for Central Arkansas builders.
Addressing Homelessness: Students won't just practice in a lab—they're constructing real, permanent homes for neighbors transitioning out of chronic homelessness.

As Chancellor Summer DeProw put it, "As these young adults build homes for individuals exiting homelessness, they are building confidence, stability, and a foundation for their own future success."

ASU-BEEBE AND NWACC HONORED FOR CTE EXCELLENCE

Congratulations to Dr. Cheryl Wiedmaier, Dean of Career Education at Arkansas State University-Beebe, on receiving the 2026 Arkansas ACTE Postsecondary Professional of the Year Award.

Congratulations also to Starlinda Sanders, Associate Vice President for Workforce and Economic development at Northwest Arkansas Community College, on being named 2027 ACTE Region IV Postsecondary Professional of the Year and a finalist for the national award.

UPCOMING ACC EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

September 9: Tailwind Webinar: The AI Agent Is Browsing
September 11: ACC Board Meeting
September 14: Tailwind Webinar: Getting the Most Out of Microsoft Copilot
September 15: Last day to Register for the 2026 ACC Conference
September 16: CAO/CSAO Meeting
September 21: Be Pro Be Proud Webinar
September 25: Conference Board Meeting

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