Micah Bradley is on track to graduate the Hope Collegiate Academy with her associate’s degree.

By Steve Brawner, © 2025 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Micah Bradley played shortstop and third base for the Hope Bobcats softball team this past year as a sophomore. She wants to go to college and become a nurse anesthetist, and she’s getting a head start. Thanks to the Hope Collegiate Academy, she’ll graduate high school in two years with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree, for which her family will have paid nothing. 

Students at Hope can earn a two-year associate of arts degree by taking concurrent classes at the nearby University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana campus. They get their basic courses done and can be well on their way toward a four-year degree.

Since the academy’s founding in the 2018-19 school year, 89 Hope students have completed the program. This year, 14 graduated with their associate’s degree three days before they received their high school diploma.

Arkansas High School in Texarkana has a similar program. Students take classes at UAHT’s Texarkana campus. Started a year later, 54 students there have graduated with an associate’s degree. Eighteen did this year.

The districts pay for the students’ tuition by using state funding that is based on the number of students eligible for free and reduced price meals. The districts also provide bus transportation and lunch.

Secretary of Education Jacob Oliva wants more students taking that path. In 2024, 189 Arkansas high school students graduated with an associate’s degree, as reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He’d like it to be more like 2,000 or 3,000. But it will require a culture shift. Last year, 47% of Arkansas’ high school seniors didn’t even have a full academic schedule. They had already met most of their requirements, so they went home or somewhere else early.

One important aspect of the Hope and Texarkana academies is that students spend their sophomore year on their local UAHT campus taking high school credit courses taught by college professors. Known informally as “boot camp,” the year immerses them in the college experience. Meanwhile, they still receive support and guidance from their high schools.

Dr. Mikki Curtis, UAHT’s dean of secondary programs who oversees both districts’ academies, said the boot camp is a key to success.

“There is a huge mind shift that happens with students and with parents when a child goes to college,” she said. “The student at that point is responsible for their education. They’re responsible for being an advocate for themselves, and so we treat our students, even though we know they’re high school students, we give them the full college experience so that they’re better prepared for a transition to a four-year university if that’s what they want to do. Or, they’re able to go straight to the workforce.”

Students spend their junior and senior years taking a full load of college classes alongside older college students. The classes can also count toward their high school requirements. Curtis and professors said they do well. Having taken Algebra II from a college professor their sophomore year, they’re often better prepared for college algebra than the older students. 

The juniors and seniors still get guidance from their high schools. They and the sophomores can take high school classes and participate in extracurricular activities such as sports and band.

Curtis believes students will rise to the expectations set before them.

“The majority of our students are just your average students. … It is not just a program for high-achieving students,” Curtis said. “As long as the kids, they’re able to put in that work, they can be successful.” 

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ ACCESS Act, passed by lawmakers this year, is designed to increase the number of concurrent credit students. In fact, the “A” stands for “acceleration.” It requires up to 15 concurrent credit hours per semester to be free to students. Students who earn an associate’s degree can receive scholarship money. 

ACCESS increases state funding provided to school districts to pay for the classes, but it won’t fully pay for the cost. School districts and colleges must negotiate how much school districts will pay for the programs. ACCESS caps what colleges can charge.

Hope and Texarkana both have a college campus within minutes of their high schools. Oliva said districts without that convenience will have to get creative. They can credential teachers to teach college courses, offer online instruction, and hire college professors to teach on campus.

“That’s one of the tasks that we’re working on this summer is removing those obstacles and barriers,” Oliva said. “A zip code or logistics shouldn’t open or close doors to students being able to have an accelerated opportunity.”