NorthWest Arkansas Community College

General Education Development (GED®)

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Earning an Arkansas high school diploma allows you to compete in the job market and prepare for post-secondary education and technical training. 

High School Equivalence / General Education Development (GED®) classes are held at NWACC's Adult Education Center, at various local industries, and other locations as the need arises. The pace of learning and length of attendance are determined by the your needs and scheduling constraints. 

View the information below to learn more about NWACC's GED® programs. 

Adult Basic Education

NWACC's Adult Basic Education (ABE) program offers basic academic instruction to adult learners functioning below the ninth-grade level.

The ABE program process:

• Take a placement test to identify the subject areas needing improvement.
  
  
• Sign up for a flexible class schedule designed to help improve skills in writing, social studies, science, reading and mathematics.
  • Courses may also include digital literacy, financial literacy, nutrition literacy, employability skills and more.
    
    
• Once these skills are improved, one is enrolled in classes to assist in passing the GED® assessment.

Adult Secondary Education

The Adult Secondary Education (ASE) program provides basic academic instruction to adult learners functioning at or above the ninth-grade level.

The ASE program process:

• Take a placement test to identify the subject areas needing improvement.
• Sign up for a flexible class schedule designed to help improve skills in writing, social studies, science, reading and mathematics.
• Once these skills are improved, one is enrolled in classes to assist in passing the GED® assessment.
• NWACC's Adult Education Center also provides instruction to those who have their high school diploma, but are deficient in basic academic skills. 

Upon completion of the GED® program, one is eligible for a 3-4 credit hour tuition waiver for an NWACC class (does not include fees/books) that must be used within three years. 

GED® College Ready & College Ready + Credit

In fall of 2019, NWACC became the first Arkansas community college to adopt the GED® College Ready and College Ready + Credit programs.

Once you've earned your GED®, you may qualify for one of the two programs and earn up to 10 semester hours, saving you money as you begin your higher education.  

Through the GED^® College Ready program, those who have taken General Education Development (GED®), have scored a minimum of 165 and have demonstrated skills that are consistent with those required to be college and career readiness standards may earn a high school equivalency credential and be eligible to enroll directly in credit-bearing courses at NWACC.

Through the GED^® College Ready + Credit program, those who have taken GED® and have scored a minimum of 175 and demonstrate some of the skills that are taught in college-level courses may be eligible for up to three credits in math, three credits in science, three credits in social studies, and one credit in English at NWACC.

Program Structure

View the following test scores necessary to earn college credits. 

Title	College Ready Score	Plus Credit Score	# of Credits	Course
The 2014 GED® Test: Science College Ready+Credit	165 and above	175 and above	3 semester hours	ANTH 1013 Intro to Biological Anthropology
The 2014 GED® Test: Social Studies College Ready+Credit	165 and above	175 and above	3 semester hours	PSYC 1003 Successful First Year Student
The 2014 GED® Test: Mathematical Reasoning College Ready+Credit	165 and above	175 and above	3 semester hours	MATH 1203 College Algebra
The 2014 GED® Test: Reasoning Through Language Arts College Ready+Credit	165 and above	175 and above	1 semester hour lower division credit	1 hour Humanities Elective

 

To request an official diploma or transcript for the GED® test in Arkansas, contact the Arkansas Department of Career Education or call 501-682-1980.