SEMO PLAN SEEKS CAMPUS ENVIRONMENT THAT'S `USER FRIENDLY' (LAST IN A SERIES)

Southeast Missouri State University wants to make the campus more "user friendly" and streamline its operations.

Those are two of the targets of the school's new strategic plan.

Tied to that is development of a campus master plan. Consulting firms are helping school officials develop the master plan, which should be completed by June.

The master plan will outline all of the university's proposed capital improvement projects for the next five to 10 years.

The university envisions everything from construction of a performing and fine arts center to added parking and more frequent shuttle bus stops.

Southeast wants to erect more directional signs to make it easier for students and visitors to find their way around campus.

"There needs to be a central place somewhere on campus that visitors could be directed to," said Dr. Ken Dobbins, executive vice president.

Certain campus offices need to be readily accessible. Students have difficulty getting to the admissions office because it is in Academic Hall, which has limited parking, Dobbins said.

A performing and fine arts center could house everything from plays and symphony concerts to art exhibits.

Symphony concerts and ballets have been performed at the Show Me Center. But the building, which serves as a civic arena, isn't the best place acoustically.

"It's not exactly a concert hall," said Dr. Charles Kupchella, provost.

Kupchella said construction of an arts center probably is more than five years away.

Dobbins said the first construction priorities are to complete the 100,000-square-foot College of Business building and renovate space in Academic Hall and the old Dempster Hall.

Space will be available in those two buildings after College of Business classes and faculty offices are moved to the new building by the start of the 1996 fall semester.

University officials and consultants already have formulated some improvements.

"We will have more green space on campus," said Dobbins. "We need to tie in the north and south campus better for pedestrians."

Some areas of the campus may be restricted to pedestrian traffic and shuttle buses.

If Southeast's enrollment climbs to 10,000, it is estimated the university will need 1,500 more parking spaces, officials said.

Dr. Bill Atchley, Southeast's president, has stressed the need for the school to be more efficient in its operations.

Atchley said too many times the university gets bogged down in meetings. "To me, that is a waste of time," he said.

Since then, he has cut back on meetings and pushed for the school to streamline how it is governed.

The school plans to survey faculty, staff and students on a regular basis for ideas on how to save money, eliminate bureaucratic inefficiency and improve the overall campus climate.