(a) It has been determined that there is a significant shortfall in postsecondary education for persons seeking to become highly skilled in the use of information technology, which affects our entire economy. In fact, American employment in these fields has tripled in the last decade. Without action to meet the broad-based demand for a skilled and highly educated work force by industries involved in manufacturing, services, transportation, health care, education, government, and information systems, severe consequences could accrue to Arkansas' competitiveness and economic growth. By providing our citizens with the opportunity to acquire a high level of education in this discipline, job creation will result as firms locate and expand in Arkansas. These industries will form an important component in Arkansas' economy in the next century. To accomplish this goal, we must establish a new college of information science and systems engineering and form a partnership between the university, public schools, and the private sector so that the public schools may be best prepared to give the training necessary to students prior to entering college and so that the colleges are prepared to build on that training to provide the potential employees for companies which are currently located in this state or which we are attempting to attract to this state.
(b) The enhancement of educational opportunities in Arkansas in the field of information technologies and the development of a public and private partnership between the universities and the knowledge-based businesses will help assure that our graduates and their families will have the best opportunity to remain in this state in productive and rewarding careers. Furthermore, the program envisioned by this subchapter will help both traditional students and nontraditional students. It will provide traditional students with liberal arts majors an avenue to enhance their value and their ability to grow into future jobs, and it will offer majors to those who wish to specialize exclusively in the information technology fields. Nontraditional students will be given an option to continue their education in a field that will allow them more flexibility in today's job markets.