SOUTHEAST UNIVERSITY RELIES ON TECHNOLOGY

Colleges will rely more on technology to teach students in the 21st century, and some public schools could become private institutions.

Long-distance learning through computers and interactive television is already a part of higher education, but it will become more prevalent in the coming century, Southeast Missouri State University officials say. More courses will be offered on the Internet.

Dr. Dale Nitzschke, Southeast's president, said the money trail is driving schools toward privatization.

Colleges and universities across the country are increasingly dependent upon private funding to operate.

Southeast is no exception. The university's foundation raised more than $3 million in fiscal 1996.

"One of the real inherent values in this country is public education," Nitzschke said.

But the increasing reliance on private donations means that schools will have to cater even more to the wishes of their donors or face the possibility that individuals or companies will pull their funding, he said.

Federal and state officials have discussed tuition tax credits to encourage people to attend college.

Such an arrangement relies on private money to send students to school, Nitzschke said.

At one time, students relied heavily on federal grants to fund their education. Today, the federal aid is largely in loans, which must be paid back after the students graduate.

Nitzschke was president of the University of New Hampshire between 1990 and 1994 when the school considered going private because state funding was tight.

There has been a slow, gradual withdrawal of state funding for colleges and universities across the nation as governors and state legislatures have put more money into prisons.

Students are paying higher and higher tuition to make up for decreased state support, Nitzschke said.

But Southeast's future is still tied heavily to state funding.

The school wants to spend more than $30 million to renovate six campus buildings and build a new technology center in the next five years.

The projects include a $12.5 million renovation to Academic Hall.

The university wants the state to fund all the projects.

Southeast wants to build a fine-and-performing arts center within the next eight years. It might be funded entirely with private funds, Nitzschke said.

The landscape of higher education is changing dramatically, he said, adding: "Businesses and industries have become some of our major competitors."

He said businesses are starting their own schools and educating people for jobs.

"The delivery of educational opportunity through technology is exploding," said Nitzschke.

Individuals will be able to take classes from home through their personal computers and Internet, he said.

Dr. Charles Kupchella, Southeast's provost, said some of the school's professors already make use of the Internet in their classrooms. They have computer web sites for their courses.

University libraries, including Southeast's Kent Library, will house data bases. Libraries will be increasingly linked together via computer networks, Kupchella said.

The university will continue to develop its night school program, Southeast P.M.

The school also plans to focus on industrial technology with creation of a Polytechnic Institute.

Campus identity will be blurred to some extent as colleges offer more programs and courses in partnership with each other.

Southeast is working with Three Rivers and Mineral Area community colleges to provide courses at off-campus sites in Perryville, Malden, Park Hills and Sikeston.

Mineral Area College may begin offering some two-year courses on the Southeast campus this fall, Kupchella said.

Southeast already provides courses via interactive television to outreach sites at Malden and Poplar Bluff.

Southeast plans to open an education center in Sikeston this year.

Even with long-distance learning, there always will be a need for direct interaction with a teacher, Kupchella said.