EDUCATORS PRAISE NEW CONSORTIUM

Higher education officials Tuesday touted a new partnership of five colleges and universities that plans to reach out to the region with technical training and college courses.

The Southeast Missouri Educational Consortium was formed in fall 1996. Members are Southeast Missouri State University, the University of Missouri, Three Rivers Community College at Poplar Bluff, Mineral Area College at Park Hills and Lincoln University in Jefferson City.

Officials of all three schools attended a meeting with more than a dozen state lawmakers Tuesday at the Show Me Center.

Dr. Kala Stroup, Missouri's commissioner of higher education; and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, also attended.

In all, about 50 people attended the meeting, including officials of area vocational-technical schools.

Dr. Dale Nitzschke, Southeast's president, said the goal is to provide the region with greater access to higher education. That is a challenging task when fewer than 10 percent of the people in many parts of southern Missouri have college degrees, educators said.

Missouri is 39th in the nation in the college-attendance rate, Stroup said. The Coordinating Board for Higher Education wants to improve that rate, she said.

Southeast provost Dr. Charles Kupchella said Southeast couldn't do it alone. The idea of a partnership isn't a new one, he said.

Southeast, through a partnership with Three Rivers Community College and the University of Missouri, established the Bootheel Education Center at Malden a decade ago, he said.

But through this new consortium, more programs will be offered at off-campus sites throughout the region, officials said.

Courses are being offered through an ever-expanding telecommunications network. Interactive video and the Internet allow for long-distance learning, said Stephen Lehmkuhle, vice president of the Missouri University system.

Four educational networks currently deliver college courses to the region, he said.

In the future, the libraries of Missouri's colleges will be electronically linked together so students at one school can have access to information in another school's library.

Lehmkuhle said educational consortiums or partnerships allow schools to provide services without unnecessary duplication.

John Cooper, the new president of Three Rivers Community College, said educational partnerships are vital to meet the region's job-training needs. By 2010, over 80 percent of new jobs will require post-secondary training, he said.

"Human capital, folks, is our most precious resource," he said.

Cooper said the Southeast consortium will work with the region's 11 public vocational-technical schools to provide technical training.

The region already has some customized job-training programs, he said.

Schools, he said, have become "virtual engines of economic development."

Lincoln University plans to open an education center at Caruthersville.

Southeast is working with Three Rivers Community College and the Sikeston public schools to develop the Sikeston Area Education Center. The new center could begin operations in January in a renovated bank building. A new center is scheduled to be built near the Sikeston industrial park. Construction could begin next year, Southeast officials said.

Lawmakers, including state Sen. Jerry Howard, D-Dexter, and several House members, voiced concern that low-income residents aren't aware of the educational opportunities offered through the consortium.

State Rep. Ron Auer, D-St. Louis, told the college presidents that high-school dropouts and other non-traditional students won't show up on their doorsteps; colleges must reach out to these students.