Southeast to discontinue Malden site courses

Southeast Missouri State University will no longer offer courses at its Malden, Missouri, campus, the university announced Monday in a news release.

Southeast president Carlos Vargas-Aburto cited budgetary needs, declining enrollment and a decrease in demand for face-to-face and interactive television, or ITV, course offerings at the Malden facility for the decision to cease face-to-face and ITV coursework there, effective at the end of the spring 2018 semester.

Vargas said Southeast will shift its delivery to online offerings while also encouraging Malden-area students to continue their coursework at Southeast�s nearby locations, the release stated.

Southeast�s regional campuses in Sikeston and Kennett, Missouri, will remain open, according to the release.

Enrollment at the Malden campus has declined steadily, Vargas said in the release.

In fall 2010, head count was 248 at the Malden campus, but by fall 2017, that number had fallen to 106. This spring, 91 students are enrolled in at least one course at Southeast�s Malden campus, Vargas said in the release.

Online courses are popular, Vargas said in the release, and allow students to stay on target with academic goals while also balancing the demands of family and work.

In Dunklin County, where Malden is located, 75 percent of the population has access to 25 megabytes per second, or Mbps, broadband internet, according to an online map at broadbandnow.com/Missouri. According to the same map, in Cape Girardeau County, 83.3 percent of the population has access to 25 Mbps internet.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, 25 Mbps is the upper end of medium service. That means two people at once could use basic functions, such as emailing or internet browsing, plus only one high-demand application, such as streaming high-definition videos or telecommuting.

In the release, Vargas said there are more Southeast students today enrolled as online students from Stoddard and neighboring counties than those enrolled at the Malden campus.

High school students earn dual credit while still enrolled in high school, which also contributes to declining enrollment at Malden, Vargas said in the release.

Since 2012, the number of dual-credit students has doubled, the release stated.

�While this has been a very difficult decision, it also has been an opportunity to evaluate shifts in technology and reorganize our instructional offerings consistent with the needs of today�s students,� he said in the release.

In the release, Vargas said Southeast has been strategic in its budget reduction decisions in an effort to minimize the effect on students and faculty.

Of the 91 students enrolled at Southeast�s Malden campus, 48 are taking coursework only in Malden. He said he is encouraged knowing nearly half of them already take coursework both at Malden and at another Southeast location.

In addition, 86 percent of the students enrolled at Southeast�s Malden campus reside in Dunklin, New Madrid and Stoddard counties, making travel to Southeast�s regional campuses in Kennett or Sikeston accessible to continue their education, the release stated.

�I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks and sincere appreciation to the Crisp Bootheel Education Center Advisory Board, the citizens, and the city of Malden who for more than 30 years have offered their unwavering commitment, both financially and with their steadfast dedication to and support of our campus here,� Vargas said. �While the magnitude of the University�s budget needs necessitates this refocusing of our instructional efforts, I am encouraged that Malden students will still be able to pursue their educational goals close to home.�

An informational session for Southeast Malden students will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. today at the Malden campus.

Moving forward, the Malden facility will remain open for noncredit events, including career-development workshops, the release stated.

The Bootheel Youth Museum will continue operations as well, Vargas said in the release.

Vargas said Southeast also may use the vacated instructional space for events, workshops and satellite space for the university�s Economic and Business Engagement Center. The EBEC�s Agriculture Technology Virtual Incubation Program encourages innovation and offers support to the agriculture industry, of vital importance in the Bootheel.

Southeast�s budget need for FY18 is $6.6 million, after cuts announced by Gov. Eric Greitens last year.

In efforts to economize, the university already has eliminated about 50 unfilled and filled staff positions and moved to combine several university divisions. A voluntary retirement incentive program was enacted, resulting in 74 faculty and staff retirements beginning Dec. 31, 2017, the release stated.

A four-month hiring delay remains in place at Southeast, according to the release.

Last week, Greitens announced plans for further cuts for fiscal year 2019, which begins July 1, 2018. Those proposed cuts have not been approved by the legislature, but would require further cuts to Southeast�s operations budget.

Missouri state law prevents tuition increases above the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, for a given year.

In 2016, the CPI was 0.7 percent, or $1.60 per credit hour, and in 2017, that percentage was 2.1, or $4.85 per credit hour.

Current undergraduate tuition for a Missouri resident, including general fees, is $233 per credit hour, according to semo.edu.

Southeast Missouri State University-Malden is housed in the Harry L. Crisp Bootheel Education Center, or CBEC, in Malden. The CBEC is a former Pepsi-Cola bottling plant donated by Harry Crisp II and wife Rosemary Berkel Crisp in 1987, and is named in honor of Harry Crisp II�s father, founder of Pepsi MidAmerica, a bottling company based in Marion, Illinois, according to the release.

Three Rivers College also is discontinuing course offerings at its separate Malden campus, citing similar enrollment declines, the release stated.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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700 N. Douglass St., Malden, Mo.

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