Contributed Article By Lori Dugan
THATCHER – For the third year in a row, Eastern Arizona College (EAC) has been selected out of nearly 8,000 post-secondary schools across America as the recipient of the Best Value College award. The award is issued by University Research & Review (URR), a company dedicated to improving the process of how a student selects a post-secondary school.
“It is an honor to accept this award for the third straight year,” EAC President Mark Bryce said. “I accept it on behalf of generations of EAC faculty and staff who have worked together to make the college great.”
Bryce received the award on behalf of the college from the URR Founder Joseph Schmoke. “It is our distinguished pleasure to present the award to Eastern Arizona College,” Schmoke said. “We hope current students and alumni take pride in this honor, and that anyone searching for a quality, reasonably priced college education strongly considers EAC.”
The committee which reviewed more than 100 nominees out of thousands of eligible schools is made up of former university presidents, CEOs, provosts and professors. Schools cannot pay to receive the award; it has to be earned through the nomination and committee evaluation process.
On the Best Value College website EAC is described as:
A repeat Best Value School Designee, Eastern Arizona College stands out for reasons other than its cost to attend. The school focuses on degrees and certificate programs that actually lead to jobs, something that too many in ivory tower higher education pooh-pooh. Nursing-RN and pre-nursing programs are popular as are the certificate retraining programs in welding and computer-assisted design & drafting.
Serving its low density geographical area, EAC’s progressive approach to the needs of its target population has accounted for a 50 percent growth in enrollment in recent years. And their zero percent default rate on student loans indicates these graduates, transfers (to four-year colleges), and certificate earners do get the jobs they train for.
Eighty-six percent of EAC’s students’ comments are positive, which is an unusually high number. If you or someone you know are thinking about college and are located within EAC’s geographic coverage, we recommend you consider Eastern Arizona College. It’s likely you will be among the majority who think very highly of this progressive school.
“Providing an excellent and quality education for a low cost is the hallmark of EAC,” Todd Haynie, EAC’s Marketing and Public Relations Director, said. “EAC truly represents a great value to our students and the entire Gila Valley. It’s an honor to be recognized for this distinction by University Research and Review.”
For more information about University Research and Review or its Best Value College’s program, visit its website at www.bestvaluecolleges.org.
