University of Arkansas Grantham Our Constitution

Purpose: The foundation of our University’s mission and our individual daily activities

Our University has an extraordinary purpose. Our University serves those who serve and those who want to make a difference. We do so by establishing a level playing field in education, specifically for those who are typically the most underserved: first-generation college students, active duty military members, veterans, those who ensure our public safety, budding entrepreneurs, all those who need a second chance, and all those who never had a first chance. We help them build successful lives through our unique curriculum and personal mentoring approach. Armed with these successes, our graduates will have the most impact in strengthening our nation, and in turn, our world.

We expect our students to graduate. As such, the focused efforts of each and every individual staff and faculty member, on an hourly and daily basis, seek to help the student do so. That is our accountability. That is our pledge.

Affordable
In a world characterized by rising education costs and unprecedented individual student debt levels, we deliver exceptional education at one of the lowest tuition rates in the nation1. Delivering affordability is not easy, because to maintain academic quality we cannot cut academic or student service corners. So we must execute well and exercise creativity and resourcefulness in all our approaches; measuring, analyzing and holding each other accountable for all that we do.

American
Our University is extraordinarily and uniquely American in character and approach. We believe in the power of an individual, no matter where their starting point, to become successful and make a difference. We believe in economic freedom and economic responsibility at the personal and national level, as well as personal freedom, personal responsibility and personal accountability at the individual level. Such things are the backbone of the Great American Dream. Our University is composed of those who have fought for this dream, protected this dream and achieved this dream. We know very well whom we serve. We ourselves are first-generation college graduates, successful entrepreneurs, veterans of combat, public servants, and those who needed a second chance. We believe in God and Country, the Golden Rule, honesty and integrity, an abiding work ethic, and compassion for those less fortunate. We respect differing opinions and values, and as Americans, we are at the center of a truly global outlook. We respect those who came before us and their efforts to provide a future for us, and we pursue our mission unapologetically, aggressively and proactively.

As an organization, we have two historical icons that were selected for their overwhelming impact on all of the values above. They are Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. Both used The US Constitution as their platforms for change, both believed in the power of individuals to make a difference, and both died for their causes while making a difference themselves.

Entrepreneurial – Meeting Individuals’ and Society’s Needs

We provide education in useful, productive professions, and we are entrepreneurial, opportunistic and flexible in our selection of programs. There are innumerable opportunities to add value to organizations, their employees and their causes. We work hard to find those opportunities and expediently design programs to help meet their needs. As such, our offerings are dynamic, ebbing and flowing with society’s needs. We are true academic entrepreneurs, squeezing dollars from processes, bootstrapping, conserving and spending wisely, while delivering a high-quality college education and experience. This approach ensures an affordable education and increases the value of our organization for all constituencies.

We are dedicated to providing a life-changing, success-building, relevant, economically rewarding, accessible and affordable education, delivered to as many people as we can.

Our daily efforts are focused on supporting you, our student, to achieve the following in your quest to building a successful life:
1. Graduate.
2. Provide stability for your family.
3. Achieve your educational goals without a lifetime of debt.
4. Better serve your employer.
5. If you choose, be a successful entrepreneur in the true American spirit.

Student Progress

We believe in the potential of every American citizen to make a difference in our nation’s future. We concur with documented research that indicates this nation’s economic future rests in the hands of the untapped degree potential of the adult population. As such, we consider it to be the responsibility of higher education to support each individual in degree attainment. For University of Arkansas Grantham, this is not a newfound ideal. Rather, it has been our unwavering 60-year tradition in serving the needs of a second-chance population. That past, our present, and future all articulate the identical creed: It is our pledge to purposefully, continuously and passionately work alongside you to help you graduate. Students’ timely progress is our objective and graduation is our goal. As such and without equivocation, we declare in this Constitution that we absolutely expect you to graduate.

Our commitment to help you succeed is at the forefront of every decision we make. As such, we have created a student progress infrastructure, which is designed specifically for the success of the online adult learner. We are proud that you are an integral part of a university whose mission, commitment, constitution and policies were designed to support and celebrate the richness of your life’s experiences.

We know for certain that student progress, both theoretically and in practice, is equally dependent upon both academic success and in the steady, uninterrupted pace through which you progress in a degree program. Let us reiterate our intent: We expect you to graduate. Therefore, we will work persistently to keep you in a consistent pace toward graduation. We expect, therefore, that you will be equally committed to stay the course. In the most honorable and service-minded way, your perseverance to stopping gaps between courses exhibits an admirable dedication: a promise to self and family to graduate for the benefit of your own future and that of the family and nation around you.

We know and research confirms that the better you keep the rate of course-to-course progress, the more likely your graduation goal will become a reality. Armed with this knowledge, every Grantham staff member will work to motivate you to continue your degree pursuits even in the presence of life’s challenges. Research shows that together, we can mitigate those external barriers so that they are not insurmountable hurdles, but rather challenges we can work through without impeding degree progress.

We know that as an adult learner with multiple competing demands for your time, life may present obstacles along your educational path. We remain confident that the continuation of your degree program in the midst of challenges is the only way to reach your dreams. You are resilient and we are steadfast in our mission. Our battleminds must be sharp and focused on the goal. We can and will overcome together.

We are University of Arkansas Grantham. It is our mission to change lives through the power of an affordable, relevant and accessible education. We expect you to graduate, and we pledge to help you to maintain your commitment to reach that goal.