Arkansas Colleges of Health Education

What it reported doing in 2024

Accreditation: Arkansas colleges of health education has been granted certification to offer the following degree programs by the Arkansas higher education coordinating board: doctor of osteopathic medicine, master of science in biomedicine, doctor of physical therapy, doctor of occupational therapy, and master of public health.Arkansas higher education coordinating board certification does not constitute an endorsement of any institution or program. Such certification merely indicates that certain criteria have been met as required under the rules and regulations implementing institutional and program certification as defined in a.c.a. 6-61-301.the Arkansas colleges of health education is accredited by the higher learning commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the u.s. Department of education. Early initial accreditation was granted on june 24, 2021 for ten years. This accreditation was reaffirmed on march 21, 2025 following a mid-cycle review. Each of the aforementioned degrees has been approved by hlc or are engaged in the approval process. The american osteopathic association (aoa) and the commission on osteopathic college accreditation (coca) provide accrediting standards for the osteopathic medical education program. Arkansas college of osteopathic medicine (arcom) was granted ten-year accreditation with exceptional outcomes on april 23, 2025. The commission on accreditation in physical therapy education (capte) provides accrediting standards for physical therapy education programs. The doctor of physical therapy program received accreditation from capte on april 30, 2024. The accreditation council for occupational therapy education (acote) provides accrediting standards for occupational therapy education programs. The doctor of occupational therapy program received accreditation from acote on december 9, 2024. Institution and program achievements: as a young post-graduate institution, ache continued into its eleventh year focused on mission driven goals, as established in the institution's strategic plan, which was updated during the year and covers from 2025 to 2030. The fifth ache graduation was held in may 2025. Arcom graduates received their doctor of osteopathic medicine degree. 100% of the arcom graduates were placed in residencies through the accreditation council for graduate medical education (acgme) match program, with the majority of them placed in ache's service area. The degrees for the master of science in biomedicine, doctor of physical therapy, and doctor of occupational therapy programs were also conferred at the ache graduation in may 2025. This was the inaugural graduating class for the school of occupational therapy.the new master of public health program matriculated its first cohort during the fiscal year and expects to graduate its first cohort in 2026. Ache continued to deepen its interprofessional relationships with accredited colleges and universities, and agreements were signed with several regional institutions to help streamline their students' admissions into ache programs. Partnerships with local and regional universities help to retain students, creating additional healthcare professionals for our community and state. In may 2021 ache received a $32.3 million grant to begin the repurposing of the building acquired to house the research institute health and wellness center. The grant included $5 million to endow programs, based in research, that will directly impact the health and wellness of the community and state. At the end of fiscal year 2025, the construction of the research institute, including the center for rehabiliation research and the vivarium lab, was completed and operational. In fiscal year 2025, ache received a $3 million grant from the state of Arkansas to purchase equipment for use in the research area as well as in partnership with Arkansas tech's sonography program which is housed in the ache research institute health and wellness center. Ache i

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 56.4%; rating input score 56
• Program expense ratio: 61%; rating input score 61
• Fundraising efficiency: $3.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 4.7%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.53; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 10.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings