Ark. Code Ann. § 25-7-101 (2026)

1. There is created a Division of Higher Education.
2. 1. The executive head of the Division of Higher Education shall be the Director of the Division of Higher Education.
   2. The director shall be appointed, in consultation with the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board, by the Governor and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
   3. The director shall report to the Secretary of the Department of Education.
3. The Division of Higher Education shall consist of the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board and any other divisions which may be created by law and placed under the Division of Higher Education.
4. The director, with the advice and consent of the Governor, and the Secretary of the Department of Education, shall appoint the heads of the respective divisions. All of the personnel of the Division of Higher Education shall be employed by and serve at the pleasure of the director. Provided, nothing in this section shall be so construed as to reduce any right which an employee shall have under any civil service or merit system.
5. Each division of the Division of Higher Education shall be under the direction, control, and supervision of the director. The director may delegate his or her functions, powers, and duties to various divisions of the Division of Higher Education as he or she shall deem desirable or necessary for the effective and efficient operation of the Division of Higher Education.
6. The several institutions of higher education in this state shall be requested to cooperate with the Division of Higher Education in an effort to coordinate their programs.

History. Acts 1971, No. 38, § 9; A.S.A. 1947, § 5-909; Acts 1997, No. 1114, § 14; 2017, No. 866, § 1; 2019, No. 910, § 2384.

A.C.R.C. Notes. Acts 2017, No. 565, § 1, provided: “Transfer of the State Board of Private Career Education to the Department of Higher Education.

“(a)(1) The State Board of Private Career Education is transferred to the Department of Higher Education by a type 2 transfer under § 25-2-105.

“(2) For the purposes of this act, the Department of Higher Education shall be considered a principal department established by Acts 1971, No. 38.

“(b) All authority, powers, duties, functions, records, personnel, property, unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds, including the functions of budgeting or purchasing of the State Board of Private Career Education are transferred to the Department of Higher Education, except as specified by this act.

“(c) All powers, duties, and functions, including rulemaking, regulation, and licensing, promulgation of rules, rates, and standards, and the rendering of findings, orders, and adjudications of the State Board of Private Career Education are transferred to the Director of the Department of Higher Education.

“(d) The employee and designees of the State Board of Private Career Education shall continue to be selected in the manner and serve for the terms provided by the statutes applicable to the State Plant Board except as specified in this act.

“(e) The Arkansas Code Revision Commission shall make appropriate name changes in the Arkansas Code to implement this act.”

Amendments. The 2017 amendment redesignated (b) as (b)(1) and (b)2); and substituted “in consultation with the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board” for “by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board through a search and selection process that includes substantial input, review, and recommendation from the Presidents Council, subject to confirmation” in (b)(2).

The 2019 amendment substituted “Division of Higher Education” for “Department of Higher Education” in (a); substituted “Director of the Division of Higher Education” for “Director of the Department of Higher Education” in (b)(1); substituted “Division of Higher Education” for “department” elsewhere throughout the section; added (b)(3); and inserted “and the Secretary of the Department of Education” in the first sentence in (d).