TRCC plans to get input on plan for center

Three Rivers Community College will seek public input from local business leaders and area residents in its effort to open an education center in Cape Girardeau, a top official at the school said Monday.

"We are going to hold public forums," said Dr. Larry Kimbrow, the school's executive vice president. The goal, he said, is to find out what students want in terms of academic programs and what employers need in terms of job training.

Three Rivers announced Friday that it plans to open an education center in Cape Girardeau by fall 2008, subject to approval by the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

School officials said it won't cost taxpayers. Unlike the establishment of a new community college, Three Rivers' plan doesn't involve any new taxes.

Kimbrow said students' tuition would pay for operating a center. Three Rivers wants to lease an existing building. The school wants a building that's about 25,000 square feet.

Kimbrow said he spent last weekend touring Cape Girardeau, identifying vacant buildings that might provide suitable space.

Three Rivers officials internally have discussed establishing such a center for several years, he said.

Recent discussions among business and education leaders helped spark the decision by Three Rivers to pursue plans for a higher education center, Kimbrow said.

The community college is based in Poplar Bluff, Mo., but its service area covers 15 counties including Cape Girardeau County, he said.

Three Rivers has yet to submit a formal proposal to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and the coordinating board.

Dr. Robert Stein, commissioner of higher education, said his department will move quickly to review the proposal once it is received.

"Nobody wants this to sit around," he said.

Stein said Three Rivers Community College will have to provide a needs analysis as part of its proposal.

Kathy Swan, a Cape Girardeau businesswoman, chairs the coordinating board. She said Monday that although the issue could come before the board as early as October, it's likely that the board wouldn't act on the proposal until at least December.

Southeast Missouri State University president Dr. Ken Dobbins said Friday that a coordinating board policy gives his school the first right of refusal to teach general education courses in Cape Girardeau County.

But Kimbrow said Southeast doesn't own a monopoly on courses and academic programs.

Three Rivers is asking for the coordinating board to approve the proposed center as allowed under state law, Kimbrow said.

Kimbrow said Three Rivers won't offer the same degree programs as Southeast.

Swan said the coordinating board wants affordable higher education without unnecessary duplication of services.

That doesn't mean, she said, that two different institutions couldn't both offer general education courses such as freshman English.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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