Southeast releases report on changes for better

Art Wallhausen says Southeast Missouri State University is not the same university it was five years ago -- it's better.

Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast, said the proof is in the redesigned pages of the Results V Strategic Plan Progress Report, which was recently released.

It's a pictorial walk through time that summarizes the university's accomplishments over the past five years, including its 10-year accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, record gains in enrollment and continued efforts to enhance student learning through the use of technology.

The university's Board of Regents adopted a six-priority strategic plan in 1996. Each year since then, the progress report has updated SEMO's success with the priorities.

Last spring, the six priorities were consolidated by the board into the four for this year's report.

Better service

Wallhausen said the most significant accomplishment has been serving Southeast Missouri more completely and effectively.

"More people are enrolling in higher education now than ever have before," he said. "We're not up here on the hill saying we want people to come to us. We've gone out and gotten them."

More than 1,600 students were enrolled at SEMO-affiliated higher education centers in Kennett, Malden, Perryville and Sikeston during the spring semester 2001.

Wallhausen said the report offers a way for the university to communicate with the public how it is continuing to grow and excel every year.

"You have to have people understand what you're doing if you're going to have people support you," he said.

The report's new format focuses more on pictures and brief statements than charts and explanations of the university's progress, which was seen in the first four reports.

"A picture's worth a thousand words," Wallhausen said. "We thought people were tired of trying to wade through 30-40 pages of gray matter."

Wallhausen said the report was sent to the board of regents, executive officers of the state and members of the university community. Limited quantities are available to the public at the president's office in Academic Hall.

hkronmueller@semissourian.com

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