FORREST CITY, Ark. — A technical institute in eastern Arkansas has merged with a neighboring community college.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board voted Monday in favor of merging Crowley’s Ridge Technical Institute and East Arkansas Community College.
The Forrest City schools have operated independently alongside each other for decades.
Higher Education Department Deputy Director Tara Smith says students and employees will see few changes, at least for the first year.
The technical institute resisted attempts to bring the two colleges together since 1991. But in a special meeting last week, the institute’s board of trustees voted 3-2 in favor of joining the schools.
The merger abolished the Crowley’s Ridge board of trustees and East Arkansas Community College has assumed the institute’s powers and duties.
