Bollinger County seeks higher education classes

A Bollinger County group that includes superintendents of the county's four school districts wants Southeast Missouri colleges to offer classes locally to make it easier for residents in the rural county to get a higher education.

The county doesn't have a college within its borders. Residents have to travel to Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff or Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau to take college classes.

"The whole premise is that if there were more post-secondary opportunities, a higher percentage might continue beyond high school," said Robert Fulton, who chairs the Bollinger County Community Development Committee.

The committee has 15 to 20 members.

Fulton said the committee, which formed five years ago, looked at the possibility of securing an education center where college classes could be offered.

At this stage, he said, the group is searching for a more economical approach.

Fulton said area colleges could offer courses through interactive television. That would require ITV classrooms that could be set up in public high schools, he said.

Bollinger County residents also could benefit from Web courses delivered over the Internet, said Steve Chapman, director of off-campus programs at Southeast. He has been involved in the discussion.

The future of higher education is in Web courses, Chapman said. "It is probably the greatest change in education since Socrates because you are talking about ultimate flexibility."

A community could set up a computer lab. Students could then log on to their courses via computer.

"We have 200-plus courses online," said Chapman, who attended a meeting of the Bollinger County committee last week in Marble Hill.

Chapman said Southeast is working to get its bachelor of general studies program online. Mineral Area and Three Rivers community colleges also have online courses.

As a result, freshman and sophomore classes are readily available online, he said.

Students want a convenient way to take college classes, Chapman said. Marble Hill residents have to drive 60 miles round-trip to take classes at Southeast Missouri State University. If the class meets twice a week for 15 weeks, "that is a lot of miles," he said.

Interactive television and Web-based classes appeal to young adult students, who have been out of high school for a few years and are busy with work and families.

Chapman said an interactive television classroom could be created for as little as $10,000. Such a classroom could receive courses taught at Southeast and community colleges.

Bringing college classes via technology to public school classrooms could be a start, he said.

"You can make a lot of hay if you have a place to meet," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123