Group seeks public opinions on community college project

(This story has been updated for clarity.)

Do you believe there's a need for a community college in the Cape Girardeau region? If so, what courses and skills should be taught that perhaps aren't available now?

A group interested in starting a community college here wants to know what you think.

The Committee for Affordable Technical Education and the Cape Girardeau Area Magnet have initiated a study to assess workforce needs and whether a community or "technical" college can help fill those needs.

"We want to define if there is a need," explained Rich Payne, retired director of the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center who chairs the committee looking into the possibility of creating a community college district.

"Our consultant (MGT Consulting, an educational advising firm headquartered in Tampa, Florida) has been diving into the quantitative data for our region and now we want community input and to find out what the community wants and needs," Payne said.

Three versions of the survey — one for students, one for employers and one for the general public — are available online through May 7. (If the survey indicates a community need for a community college, and pending state approval and passage of a property tax to help fund the school, it is possible the Great River Community College (the proposed school's tentative name) could be operational by the fall of 2022 or spring of 2023, according to Payne.

The school would be Missouri's 13th community college.

Members of the college steering committee met last week with Missouri commissioner of higher education Zora Mulligan and staff from the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development to discuss the project.

"We've had the people from Jefferson City here to talk with all the players and stakeholders," Payne said. "They've been hearing from myself and the steering committee over an extended period of time. Now, with the community survey, it's the community's turn to say to the commissioner and the higher education group, 'This is what we need and want.' Whether they're positive about it, negative or indifferent, it's time for the people to speak, and I'm excited about that because it will help define what next steps take place."

The general public survey may be found at https://mgtamer.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4TLMu2ucjIh2vGu.

The high school student survey may be found at https://mgtamer.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3Jhk0sCtK02FBn8.

This graphic contains the QR codes and URL links to surveys targeting students, employers and the general public seeking their opinions about the need for post-secondary educational alternatives in the area. The online surveys are available through May 7.Courtesy Committee for Affordable Technical Education

The businesses and employers survey may be found at https://mgtamer.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4GT9bjkITmtANaC.

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