Southeast listed as 'hidden treasure'

Southeast Missouri State University was recently named one of the nation's 30 "hidden treasures" in education, according to university president Dr. Ken Dobbins.

Speaking at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee, Dobbins said Southeast was listed in the 2003 edition of Kaplan Inc.'s "The Unofficial, Unbiased Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges." He said the book, published this summer, is one of two commonly used by guidance counselors to help students select a post-secondary institution.

The list named 30 small schools that deserve more national recognition and was compiled through Kaplan's National Guidance Counselor Survey, according to the book.

In his speech at the Show Me Center event sponsored by AmerenUE Friday morning, Dobbins also talked about the university's role in economic development and how enrollment has grown every year since 1994. He said 40 percent of the 9,534 students enrolled this fall are from the St. Louis area, which is up from 25 percent in the past.

Breaking enrollment records this year and last year, Dobbins also said the school has more students from Southeast Missouri than ever before, and more Southeast students are taking full-time class loads.

Higher enrollment numbers are partly due to greater educational access, which has increased with the establishment of centers in Sikeston, Malden, Kennett and, most recently, Perryville.

Another reason is a concentrated effort to retain students. Part of that effort is a program implemented by Southeast this year in which they send out a six-week progress report to students. These reports are similar to midterm grades, a policy discontinued during the 1980s.

jgosche@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133