The faces of SEMO

Southeast Missouri State University officials are following the creed that it's important to know where you come from before you know where you can go.

As the university prepares to develop a strategic plan, outlining its goals for the next three to five years, it is closely studying who it already serves.

Some key trends have emerged: More students are coming from St. Louis, more students are nontraditional and more are taking online courses. Out of all the colleges, Health and Human Services has grown the fastest, by 52 percent since 2000.

Richard Young.

University president Dr. Ken Dobbins hopes this information will help guide discussion on how the university can best serve future students.

Regents have already acknowledged they must address the university's graduation rate, hovering around 55 percent, and increase efforts to attract diverse students. Aging science labs, some more than 50 years old, need to be replaced as well, regents agreed.

On Feb. 18, about 150 professors, students, legislators, deans and business leaders will have a chance to share their opinions or raise issues to be addressed. The daylong forum is invitation-only.

Brandon Telken.

Here's a look at some students who illustrate how the university has evolved.

Brandon Telken

Most of Brandon Telken's high school friends stayed around St. Louis for college. He decided to venture a little farther, giving him the freedom to prevent "unwanted visits." The freshman fits into a growing population of students coming to Southeast from the St. Louis area.

Jaime Craig

Since 1998, the number of students from the St. Louis suburb of St. Charles, Mo., has grown by 74 percent. In 2006, the number of freshmen from the St. Louis area was 455, a number that jumped to 700 by 2007.

The increase is a result of a targeted focus on the area. Traditionally pulling from a 50-mile radius around Cape Girardeau, the university is reaching out into a decidedly competitive market, where students have their choice of colleges and universities.

While university officials say they have always served students from the St. Louis area, they admit they have stepped up efforts.

"We have increased our direct mail to families and started earlier. We're marketing the River Campus and the Cape Girardeau community. We've had two workshops for counselors in the area to showcase our programs, and we have four recruiters who work in the market," said Dr. Debbie Below, director of admissions and enrollment management at Southeast.

With the increase of students from the St. Louis area, and those from Illinois, Southeast is experiencing a housing shortage. The university announced in January it will have to defer admissions for some students until more residence halls become available.

A 300-bed dorm at Henderson Avenue and Broadway is scheduled to be opened by fall 2009.

Weston Page

Weston Page drove 45 minutes from Advance, Mo., on Friday only to discover his classes had been canceled because of the weather. The criminal justice major was nearly alone in Crisp Hall, usually packed with students from the College of Health and Human Services.

The college has experienced unparalleled growth to where it is the largest college at Southeast, with 1,996 undergraduate students in 2007.

Dr. Michael Parker, associate dean, said he thinks growth has been across the board for the departments in the college, which include criminal justice, nursing, communication disorders and social work.

"My sense is the American economy is becoming more of a service economy. Students are following the jobs, and that's where the jobs are," he said.

He also attributed the growth to a national increase in women attending college. "A lot of majors in our college have been identified traditionally as female-dominated," he said.

In 2007, 57.3 percent of freshman were women. In 2006, 61 percent were.

Page decided to pursue criminal justice because he eventually wants to work for the government helping locate missing children. "Every time I saw a missing kid on TV, I wanted to go help look for them," he said while preparing for lunch and the drive back to Advance.

While university officials continually say the university is not a "suitcase" or "commuter" school, data from their Web site shows 66.9 percent of traditional students commuted in 2007, as did 99.7 percent of nontraditional students. The percentages are nearly identical to those from five years ago.

Jaime Craig

While her children watch a movie at night, Jaime Craig will often don heavy-duty headphones, similar to those worn at shooting ranges, and start her homework.

She will complete an online degree in general studies from Southeast in the May.

"I'm married, I work full time, I have two kids, and with my husband working a swing shift, there was no way I could go back to school if I had to go on campus," she said.

Craig started college after high school but quit to work two jobs to make ends meet. The advertising executive enrolled in Southeast's online program in 2005.

Board of regents vice president Albert Spradling III said at a board retreat in November that he thinks there will be a time when classrooms are not necessary.

Already it is possible for students to graduate without ever stepping foot on campus. Degrees are offered in general studies, interdisciplinary studies, business administration in organizational administration and industrial technology. A master's in business administration is also available.

In 2000, 348 students took at least one class online. In 2007, 2,076 did.

"You can do your homework from Mexico if you need to, and I've done that while on vacation," Craig said.

Most of Craig's classes require reading from a text, writing papers, taking mostly multiple choice tests and submitting opinions to an online message board. Sometimes professors will post a PowerPoint presentation or video for students, she said.

With the increase in online students, technology will likely play a large role in future university strategic planning sessions, regents have noted.

Richard Young

Richard Young completed his first degree in 1970. After retiring in 2000, he came to Southeast to earn a degree in anthropology, spending his summers doing excavations in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky.

When finished, he returned to Southeast for a master's degree in historic preservation, and was working on his thesis Thursday in the library.

"I treat it the same way I treated my job. I put in a workday here," he said.

The university defines nontraditional students as those over the age of 25. Out of 10,651 students, 2,977, or 28 percent, were nontraditional in 2007.

"I was apprehensive about coming back. ... The transition was difficult, but I've enjoyed it, or obviously I wouldn't still be at it," he said.

Linda Brott, a nontraditional junior, is also pursuing a degree in historic preservation.

She watched as her daughters, ages 39, 34 and 32, came to Southeast.

"It's been a dream of mine my whole life to go to college," she said.

Brott's family lives in Jefferson County, but she rents an apartment in Cape Girardeau to live in during the school week. She travels home on weekends.

"I have a very supportive husband," she explained.

After raising her children, Brott worked at Six Flags for 12 years before deciding to come to Southeast. She considered schools in St. Louis but opted for Southeast because she was familiar with the area.

"I've been surprised at how well I've been accepted," she said. "Age doesn't seem to matter much."

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-661, extension 123

Southeast by the numbers

• 28 percent are nontraditional
• 14 percent are graduate students
• 33 percent of undergraduates and 87 percent of graduates are part time
• 66.9 percent of traditional and 99.7 percent of nontraditional students commute
• 82.3 percent are white, 7.9 percent are black
• 10.5 percent attend a regional campus
• 19 percent took at least one online class
• 6.6 percent are from the Saint Louis area
• 57.3 percent of freshman are women
• 18.7 percent of undergrads are in the College of Health and Human Services

Source: Southeast Missouri State University's Fact Book