SEMO: INCENTIVES WILL PROPEL STATE GOALS

A statewide effort to improve higher education through such things as tougher admission requirements and incentive funding will carry a price tag, Southeast Missouri State University President Kala Stroup said Thursday.

The price tag, however, has yet to be calculated.

In a speech to about 300 faculty and staff members in the University Center Ballroom, Stroup said the institution is in step with goals, formulated last year by a statewide task force and adopted by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

Stroup said some of the provisions of the plan are similar to those contained in Proposition B, a reform-and-tax package for education that was defeated by voters in 1991.

Part of the plan calls for incentive and performance-based funding to encourage colleges and universities to meet certain goals, she said.

"I do not know how this will play out in the legislature," she added.

One of the goals is to increase employment of minority faculty and staff, and recruitment and retention of minority students, she said.

The plan also calls for turning out more graduates in specific areas, such as math, science, foreign languages and manufacturing technology; greater assessment of how well students learn at the various institutions; and greater efficiency and a reduction in administrative costs.

Another goal is to double the number of students transferring from junior colleges to four-year institutions. "This state has a relatively low transfer rate," Stroup said.

Southeast, she pointed out, already has some strong articulation agreements with community colleges in the region.

Stroup said colleges and universities are expected to submit their preliminary plans to the coordinating board by late March or the first part of April.

The board will then submit an overall plan to Gov. Mel Carnahan by this fall, Stroup said. It's expected that a higher education plan would be presented to the state legislature in 1994.

One of the statewide goals set by the coordinating board requires each institution to define itself in terms of admission of students. Universities and colleges would be defined as highly selective, selective, moderately selective or open-enrollment institutions.

Coupled with that, students entering Missouri's four-year colleges and universities in 1997 will be required to have taken a specified core of classes in high school.

The core-curriculum requirement at Southeast has already been strengthened and will go fully into effect in 1995, when a third year of high school math will be required of entering students, Stroup said.

Southeast, she said, began moving away from an open-admissions institution in 1987. Today, it is no longer an open-admissions university. "This university is already very close to the moderately selective category."

Students now have to have a minimum ACT score of 18 and a 2.0 grade point average in order to be admitted to the university.

If Southeast elects to be moderately selective, it will have to meet certain state requirements. Students with ACT scores of 21 or better would automatically be admitted. Those with scores of 18, 19 or 20 would have to be in the upper two-thirds of their high school graduating classes in order to gain admission, Stroup said.

She said this year's freshman class at Southeast could meet the moderately selective criteria.

"I think it will be challenging for us," Stroup said of the higher education goals.

She added that she has "some optimism" that the statewide plan will present an opportunity "to address some of the recurring problems of higher education."

COCHRAN ENJOYS CHALLENGE OF YOUNGSTOWN PRESIDENCY

HCOCHRAN ENJOYS CHALLENGE OF YOUNGSTOWN PRESIDENCYeadline:

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio With his open-door policy, Leslie Cochran has been a visible presence as the president of Youngstown State University.

The former provost at Southeast Missouri State University took over as president of the Ohio school July 1.

For the past six months, Cochran has been a regular speaker at gatherings throughout the Youngstown metropolitan area.

"I have given an average of at least one speech a day," Cochran said in a telephone interview this week.

In addition, he has visited elementary schools and General Motors plants, and participated in everything from football tailgate parties to digs with archaeological students.

Cochran has tried to instill an open-door policy with his administration.

"We are very open and collegial and providing an opportunity for the campus to move forward."

He said he has tried to "open up a campus that has been fairly closed, autocratic in its management."

The former Cape Girardeau resident is enthusiastic about his job. "I have had just a wonderful experience," he said.

As a university president, Cochran said his daily duties keep him busy, whether it's speaking to various groups or working with the Ohio legislature.

"It really is a more diverse day and that has been exciting," Cochran said, comparing his current duties with his former job as Southeast's provost.

Cochran said the Youngstown campus and the community are different in many ways from Southeast.

With its enrollment of about 15,000, Youngstown is larger than Southeast.

"About 75 percent of our students come from two counties," he said. About 500,000 people live in those two counties. Youngstown itself has a population of about 100,000.

"The university is a major player in the whole economic force of this community," said Cochran.

It's a major employer in the region, with about 2,500 full- and part-time employees.

The school is a football powerhouse in Division I-AA. The football team last year came in second nationally after winning the national championship the year before.

Upon his arrival at Youngstown, Cochran was immediately faced with a number of tough budget decisions. The day before he assumed the presidency, the university suffered a $6 million budget cut.

But even with the budget cut, Cochran said the level of state support for Youngstown and higher education in general was "dramatically greater" than it had been in Missouri.

The school is moving forward with a number of major projects. An executive recently contributed $1 million to endow a center for international business.

"A month ago, we got a new College of Education building approved in the state legislature that in July was not even on the university priority list or their priority list," he said.

"We introduced our first doctoral program this fall," he added.

Cochran said he has enjoyed the urban culture in the Youngstown area, everything from the symphony to art galleries and museums. He serves on the board of one art museum.

Cochran's wife, Linda, has also found her niche in the community. As she had done in Cape Girardeau, she opened a business consulting firm.

While in Cape Girardeau, the Cochrans renovated an old church in the downtown area and turned it into their residence.

Leslie Cochran said he and his wife now are considering renovating an old building in downtown Youngstown.

Cochran said he enjoys the restoration work. "It is a great diversion for me."