Three Rivers, SEMO differ on numbers in proposal

Southeast Missouri State University and Three Rivers Community College differ over what percentage of courses each school would teach at the three Bootheel education centers if a plan favored by Southeast's regents was implemented.

Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins said his school would end up teaching 51 percent of the classes at the education centers in Malden, Kennett and Sikeston compared to 49 percent for Three Rivers.

But Judith Scott, vice president for college advancement at Three Rivers in Poplar Bluff, Mo., estimated the plan would amount to Southeast teaching 70 percent of classes to Three Rivers' 30 percent while the two schools would split equally the cost of operating the education centers.

Under the proposal favored by Southeast's regents, the Cape Girardeau school would teach 40 percent of the lower-division courses and all of the upper-division and graduate classes. Three Rivers would teach 60 percent of the lower-division courses.

Dobbins said Southeast would teach 184 lower-division courses plus 105 upper-division and graduate classes or a total of 289 classes a year. Three Rivers would teach 275 lower-division courses at the centers.

Three Rivers officials didn't provide specific numbers as to courses, but Scott said the 70-30 percentage split was based on the spring 2005 schedule of classes at the three education centers.

According to reports filed by the directors of the three Bootheel higher education centers, Southeast is teaching 116 classes this spring, while Three Rivers teaches 134, said Art Wallhausen, asssociate to the president at Southeast. That amounts to Southeast teaching 46 percent of classes and Three Rivers teaching 54 percent. The split of lower and upper division courses for Southeast this semester is even, Wallhausen said, with 58 courses in each division.

The two schools have been at odds since Southeast announced in February it was terminating its partnership with Three Rivers and taking over the teaching of all classes at the three centers starting this summer.

Three Rivers responded by filing a lawsuit against the university, accusing it of breaching a rental agreement.

Southeast, which owns the centers, said it is losing more than $800,000 annually in operating the facilities.

$1 million in revenue

Dobbins said Three Rivers, in contrast, made nearly $1 million in net revenue from its course offerings at the three centers last year.

But Three Rivers' Scott said the community college makes $300,000 to $500,000 after expenses.

"We would love to run the centers ourselves. I guarantee you we would not lose $800,000," said Scott. "We are a lean, mean teaching machine."

Dr. John Cooper, president of Three Rivers, said Southeast wants the community college to pay $550,000 to $600,000 annually for its share of the expenses of operating the three centers.

"We could operate the centers for half that cost," he said.

Dobbins said Southeast officials will consider any compromise to resolve the dispute.

The two schools had been operating under a three-year rental agreement that went into effect last year. Three Rivers officials said the school would have paid about $150,000 to Southeast over the course of a full year under the rental agreement.

A Three Rivers budget document puts the annual rental cost at $200,000.

The regents earlier this year canceled the rental agreement, saying Three Rivers hadn't paid all the money it owed for the fall semester.

Cooper said Three Rivers paid a disputed $10,000 to Southeast in March in an effort to resolve the disagreement.

But Wallhausen said the action came too late.

"By that point, the agreement had been terminated by our board," he said. The termination takes effect in May at the end of spring semester classes.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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