Arkansas Health Education Grant (ARHEG)

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Arkansas Health Education Grant (ARHEG)

The Arkansas Health Education Grant Program provides assistance to students seeking professional training in chiropractic medicine, dentistry, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, and veterinary medicine to allow them to attend out-of-state institutions. Due to current economic conditions, the number of students who receive assistance may be limited by the availability of funds. Applicants are encouraged to apply but are also encouraged to pursue alternative sources of funding.

Arkansas Health Education Grant | About the Program
The Arkansas Health Education Grant Program (ARHEG), which is funded by the state of Arkansas, provides assistance for Arkansas residents attending certain out-of-state accredited health and medical professional schools for graduate or professional programs that are unavailable in Arkansas. The ARHEG is administered by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE) and assistance is provided pursuant to rules established under Act 1218 of 1999. Such assistance is currently available for attendance at any accredited school of dentistry, school of optometry, school of veterinary medicine, school of podiatric medicine, school of chiropractic medicine, or school of osteopathic medicine that's located outside the State; and offers a full-time course of instruction in at least one eligible profession; and grants, after completion of such course of instruction, a degree acceptable to the applicable licensing board as the sole requirement, or as one requirement, for the applicable licensing board's granting of the applicable professional license; and is a party to a currently effective written agreement between the institution and the Board of Control for Southern Regional Education (SREB) or the AD which sets forth (1) the terms and conditions under which disbursements will be made, (2) the number of eligible students for which disbursements will be made, and (3) the amount of disbursements to be made with respect to each eligible student by the ADHE to the institution.

The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board (AHECB) determines the priorities for the applicable programs. Based upon these priorities and the availability of funding, the Board establishes the number of student places (contract slots) for entering students in each professional field in which the State has needs that are not satisfied by its own institutions. Based upon these determinations, the ADHE negotiates contracts with participating schools either (1) through the SREB or (2) directly with the institutions. The AHECB allocates a number of contract slots to each participating school, and each school selects students certified as Arkansas residents to fill its allocated slots.

SREB Contracts
If the school participates in the SREB contract program, the State pays a set fee per student to the SREB according to the table below.

Field of Study Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009
Dentistry $14,000 $15,000 $15,000 $15,900
Optometry $12,200 $13,100 $13,100 $13,900
Osteopathic Medicine $12,200 $13,100 $13,100 $13,500
Podiatric Medicine $8,600 $8,900 $8,900 $9,200
Veterinary Medicine $20,400 $22,400 $22,400 $24,200

In return, the SREB negotiates a contract with the school to hold a certain number of slots open for Arkansas students and to charge those students resident tuition. (Exceptions: Students attending the University of Tennessee (dentistry), Texas A&M University System Health Science Center (dentistry), University of Louisville (dentistry), Oklahoma State University College (osteopathic medicine), and Northeastern State University (optometry) are charged the resident tuition plus the difference between the non-resident tuition and the sum of the resident tuition and the SREB contract fee. Schools which do not have a resident/non-resident tuition differential agree to hold a number of slots open for Arkansas students at reduced tuition.

Non-SREB Contracts
If the school has a direct contract with the ADHE, the contract basically provides that the State will pay to the schools that charge different resident and non-resident tuition an amount equal to the difference between the resident and non-resident tuition, which the school will apply to the tuition and fees of such students. Should the differential exceed the contract price approved for similar programs by the SREB, the lesser amount will be paid. For schools which charge the same amount of annual tuition for residents and non-residents, and such annual tuition is extraordinary as determined by the ADHE, the amount will not be less than $5,000 per student, which the school will apply to the amount of tuition and fees of such students.
Participating Institutions
Asterick (*) indicates SREB contract
Plus sign (+) indicates Private Institution

Field of Study Entering Slots
Dentistry Total: 30
University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN * 18
Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN + 1
Louisiana State University, New Orleans, LA * 4
University of Louisville, Louisville, KY * 1
University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK * 1
Texas A & M University System HSC, Dallas. TX * 3
University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL * 2
Veterinary Medicine Total: 12
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA * 9
Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 0
Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL + 1
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 1
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 1
Optometry Total: 7
Southern College of Optometry, Memphis, TN *+ 5
Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, OK * 2
University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO 0
Osteopathic Medicine Total: 6
Oklahoma State University, Tulsa, OK * 3
Des Moines University, Des Moines, IA + 1
Pikeville College, Pikeville, KY + 1
Kansas City Univ of Medicine & Biosciences, Kansas City, MO + 1
Podiatric Medicine Total: 4
Rosalind Franklin Univ of Medical Sciences, Chicago, IL *+ 1
Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine, Cleveland, OH *+ 1
Barry University, Miami Shores, FL *+ 1
Des Moines University, Des Moines, IA + 1
Chiropractic Medicine Total: 13
Cleveland Chiropractic College, Kansas City, MO + 2
Logan College of Chiropractic, Chesterfield, MO + 3
Parker College of Chiropractic, Irving, TX + 6
Texas Chiropractic College, Pasadena, TX + 1
Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport, IA + 1
GRAND TOTAL: 72

Certification and Application
To receive ARHEG funding assistance to study chiropractic medicine, dentistry, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine or veterinary medicine, a prospective student must be "certified" as an Arkansas resident. Certification is a procedural process that is initiated by the student by completing the Application and Affidavit and submitting them to:
ARHEG Coordinator
Arkansas Department of Higher Education
114 East Capitol Ave.
Little Rock, AR 72201-3818
Phone: 1-800-54-STUDY or (501) 371-2000
Email: finaid@adhe.edu

Students may request information and application packets from the ARHEG Coordinator, or obtain the same information from the ADHE web site.
The prospective student also must apply to and be accepted by a school that is under contract with the State. The total number of contract slots is limited by available funds, so it is important to apply and gain acceptance by the school at the earliest possible time.

(Note: Requests for certification are processed by ADHE on a monthly basis. Students applying for the ARHEG and residency certification receive a letter from ADHE confirming their certification status; at the same time, an updated list of certified students is sent to the institutions participating in the ARHEG. Participating institutions have sole discretion in selecting grant recipients from the list of certified students using the same criteria they use in determining those students that will be accepted for enrollment.)