SEMO PLANS TO EXPAND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Southeast Missouri State University would bring its industrial technology program to St. Louis under a plan the school's Board of Regents will consider today.

The board will meet at 1:30 p.m. in the Robert A. Dempster Hall atrium.

Under the plan, St. Louis area students could obtain a bachelor's degree in industrial technology from Southeast without having to set foot on the Cape Girardeau campus. The program would begin this fall.

Provost Dr. Charles Kupchella said the university already has an agreement with the St. Louis community colleges in which students can transfer to Southeast for the final two years to obtain a bachelor's degree in industrial technology.

But traveling to the Cape Girardeau school is impractical for students in the St. Louis area who work for a living, Kupchella said. The new program would meet their needs, he said.

Southeast officials said it also would tie in with the school's plans for a polytechnic institute in Cape Girardeau that would deliver industrial technology training to the region.

The regents will consider launching a program in which Southeast would offer the second two years of industrial technology classes at St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley campus.

Southeast would have an on-site coordinator to advise students and conduct registration.

The university also would provide faculty for the program, including some who would commute from the Cape Girardeau campus. In the future, some courses could be delivered through interactive television.

Financial aid would be administered through Southeast.

Kupchella said some of the upper level course work could be obtained from other four-year schools in St. Louis, including the University of Missouri.

Southeast will teach those technology courses that currently aren't provided, he said.

Projected expenses total $87,640 for the first year. That would climb to $174,436 by the fifth year, Southeast officials said.

But revenue would more than make up for the cost, financial projections show.

Revenue is expected to total $107,600 the first year and increase to $176,600 by the fifth year.

The revenue projections include $80,000 a year in state funding for the program.

It is estimated that tuition and fees would generate $27,600 the first year. That would increase to $96,600 by the fifth year.

The increase in tuition and fees is based on projections that enrollment would climb from 20 part-time students the first year to 50 part-time and 12 full-time students in the program's fifth year.

In other action, the board will consider issuing revenue bonds to fund improvements to the recreation fields and expand the Student Recreation Center.

The university administration also will ask the board to establish a master of arts degree in teaching English as a second language.