by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

University of Central Arkansas President Dr. Houston Davis has helped guide the Conway-based university to some solid enrollment gains over the last four years. Earlier this fall, UCA welcomed one of its largest incoming freshman classes with 2,183 students, marking a 26% increase in incoming students from fall 2023, according to preliminary data.

The incoming freshman class represents the largest year-to-year increase in at least 25 years with 446 more students over last year. This cohort of 2,183 is the second-largest incoming freshman class among all Arkansas four-year universities for the ninth consecutive fall.

Overall enrollment for fall 2024 at UCA is 10,123 which is a 3.4% gain from the previous year. New graduate and transfer students, as well as the incoming freshman class, helped to fuel overall growth at the university.

UCA President discusses changes coming to higher ed, ‘enrollment cliff’

by Kim Souza (ksouza@talkbusiness.net)

According to three economists who spoke Friday (Jan. 27) at the 29th annual Arkansas Business Forecast Luncheon held in Rogers, Arkansas and the U.S. will likely avoid economic recession primarily because of continued job and wage growth.

Around 1,000 people attended the event, according to officials with the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

Simmons Foods CEO Todd Simmons was the moderator for the event and said three areas of concern from his perspective included the need for affordable housing in Northwest Arkansas to ensure people continue to move here. He also said the region’s population growth over the past decade has taxed transportation infrastructure, and keeping up with the higher demand is crucial to ongoing growth. Lastly, he said workforce development is imperative for the region’s future growth.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/01/economists-u-s-arkansas-economies-not-likely-to-see-recession-in-2023/