Missouri, Panama sign student exchange pact

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A new pact between Missouri and Panama will make it easier for college students from both places to study abroad.

The state Department of Higher Education and the Panamanian government signed an agreement last week that furthers a long-running educational exchange. Higher Education Commissioner Robert Stein represented Missouri at an international college fair in Panama City.

More than 100 college students from the Central American nation already study in Missouri through exchange programs.

Stein traced the partnership back nearly 100 years when students from Panama's Santiago Normal School attended what was then the Southeast Missouri Teachers College and is now Southeast Missouri State University.