Southeast Arkansas College trustees approved a measure Wednesday to apply to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to offer a certificate program for video game design.
Kaleybra Morehead, the vice president for academic affairs/college affairs, discussed the college gaming club, which has about 80 students and is being overseen by instructor Rodney Ballard.
“It is an opportunity for our students to play video games with each other,” Morehead, who has a doctorate degree in education, said. “Rodney Ballard is like a kid in a candy store. We finally got together and decided what we wanted as part of a gaming degree.”
Morehead said the program will be 18 credit hours and is embedded with an existing computer information systems program. The classes are web programming, advanced programming concepts, strategies for college success, computer programming I, computer programming II and game design and development.
“We think this is really timely since the governor is requiring all high school students to take a coding class,” Morehead said. “Hopefully some interest will be generated there and the students will come to SEARK and get this degree.”
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Southeast Arkansas College President Stephen Hilterbran hailed this program for filling a market need. He cited a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing application software developers earned a median salary of $90,500 in 2015.
Regarding the video game club, the college puts up six screens for its students to play video games and provides popcorn and soda.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson prioritized computer science when he was campaigning in 2014.
“We are excited about this,” Hilterbran, who has a doctorate degree in education, said. “The governor wants coding.”
SEARK College offers an associate degree in applied science degree, and Hilterbran said he is working with two universities in Arkansas to form an articulation agreement specific to this program.
In other news, the trustees voted to have a retreat from April 21 to April 22 to discuss a succession plan for the college president. Hilterbran said he is not planning to retire but provides a succession plan to the trustees every March.
In financial news, college controller Steve Ballard said that the college has a new electronic sign that cost about $78,000.
In personnel news, the trustees approved the hiring of Carl Bradden as an institutional services assistant and the transfer of Robert Young from extra help to full-time institutional services assistant.