Generally, we should encourage our next generations to pursue some form of post-high school education, as employment opportunities remain limited otherwise. This instruction can take many forms, including vocational training in fields such as plumbing, commercial trucking, construction, and mechanics--as well as, of course, the option of earning a bachelor's degree.

As for the latter, this paper recently reported in several articles that various Arkansas four-year colleges are flush with activity, growth, and demand. Huzzah!

Arkansas State University-Jonesboro recorded its highest-ever fall enrollment, with nearly 18,000 students. Nicely done! The school also just announced its new Freshman to Physician program, which offers early admission to the private, not-for-profit, osteopathic medical school partnering with, and residing at, A-State and its new College of Veterinary Medicine, slated to open next fall.

I've lauded these Arkansas-focused graduate school pathway programs, including the excellent one at my school, the University of Arkansas-Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. (Note, however, that unlike post-high school education, graduate school isn't for everyone, because it's often more expensive and produces more variable returns--making it less cost-effective for many students, depending on their fields, career goals, and financial situations.)

University of Arkansas-Little Rock marked its largest undergraduate enrollment increase since 2001. First-time freshmen enrollment grew by 31.9 percent, continuing-undergraduate enrollment increased by 7.1 percent, and student housing occupancy rose by nearly 10 percent. Crushing it!

Articulating the same thesis as I........

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