University of Arkansas on track to become top 50 public university by 2021

Transparancy and Accountability document, 2012

Arkansas has set 15 ambitious goals to develop into a top 50 public university by 2021. All of this is on the heels of the "Campaign for the 21st Century", when Arkansas raised $1 billion, including the largest gift in the history of public education philanthropy.



By 2021, the University of Arkansas anticipates an endowment of $2.5 billion. Arkansas also anticipates growing despite large cuts in state funding sinking many other state universities. Tuition will not be the source of additional funding.

Arkansas was recently named one of the top 10 "universities to watch" thanks to its progressive spirit and aggressive goal setting.

Keep making Ar-kansas, hillbilly, banko-picking redneck jokes. Because by the time your kid applies for college, they might not be able to get in to UA.

Goals met or exceeded
Goal 3: Increase overall enrollment while remaining the school of choice for the state’s most gifted students; provide a concomitant increase in faculty and staff

Goal 4: Enhance diversity by attracting more students, faculty and staff from underrepresented
groups and by nurturing intercultural understanding inside and outside the classroom

Sufficient progress
Goal 1: Put students first by enhancing academic programs, creating an engaging campus life, keeping
costs as low as possible and reducing obstacles to student success
Goal 2: Be transparent and accountable to the people of Arkansas in all decision-making
Goal 7: Increase funding in both research awards and federal research expenditures
Goal 8: Marshal the university’s expertise, programs, faculty, staff and students to grow the
state’s knowledge-based economy and to address major issues confronting Arkansas
and the world
Goal 9: Provide a superior campus landscape and environment by planning for and carrying
out the continuous renewal and renovation of existing facilities and the designing and
building of new world-class facilities
Goal 11: Promote environmental sustainability
Goal 12: Establish and market a quality brand reputation for the university statewide, nationally and internationally
Goal 13: Foster the arts on campus and throughout the region
Goal 14: Expand outreach through distance education and partnerships with other institutions
Goal 15: Grow public support and the endowment through enhanced relationships with
constituents and sound investment strategies

Adequate progress
Goal 5: Improve graduation rates and degree-completion times
Goal 6: Provide highly competitive compensation packages for the purpose of recruiting and
retaining the very best faculty, staff and graduate students
Goal 10: Pursue a consistent and aggressive program for the maintenance and improvement of
the institution’s libraries and technology resources

Insufficient progress
None