Universities are casting a wider net

When Kevin Marquez and Gabby Bernier chose Southeast Missouri State University as their alma mater, finances and emotion played a part in their decisions.

"What made Southeast stand out for me was the opportunity to study abroad and the internships available to me in the business program," Marquez said.

He added he also liked the "home feel" of the campus.

Marquez, of O'Fallon, Ill., and Bernier of St. Louis are two of the many students from the St. Louis area that Southeast attracted to its campus. The school posted an all-time high of 11,917 undergraduate and graduate students this year, according to the four-week census. Marquez, a freshman who plans to study accounting, considered Missouri State University in Springfield and Murray State University in Murray, Ky. Bernier was eyeing Missouri State, plus Webster University in Webster Groves, Mo.

"A lot of my friends were coming" to Southeast, "and I heard what a great school it was," said Bernier, an Ursaline Academy graduate. "I really like it so far."

Marquez and Bernier are trying to get involved in campus activities. "I've been playing a lot of club volleyball," Bernier said.

"People here are really friendly. It's felt like home to me, so far," said Marquez, an O'Fallon Township High School graduate.

While they serve their local markets, universities and community colleges in the region continue to grow by making inroads outside the area -- and around the world. Community colleges tend to attract more local students looking to train in specific sectors of the economy.

Southeast's enrollment is up 1.6 percent from this time last year.

A majority of students -- 35 percent -- are from Cape Girardeau County and the four contiguous counties -- Perry, Bollinger, Stoddard and Scott, but the next greatest percentage are from St. Louis -- 27 percent. But while the university has extended its outreach beyond the region, its focal point is still Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri, said Deborah Below, vice president for enrollment management and student success and dean of students.

This is the 19th year the university has seen a rise in its numbers and its 13th year of record enrollment, Below said.

Lenell Hahn, director of admissions, said the 110 miles between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau is a natural fit for students who want to be independent, but close enough to home to return on weekends. She noted that when students have a chance to visit the school, they see the personal attention and the "beauty of our campus, and they decide that's where they want to go to college."

She said the university has a recruitment office in Chesterfield, Mo., with three full-time staff members, but they are not admissions counselors. The number of staff members fluctuates between two and three, Hahn said.

"As far as what we do to recruit students, there are no gimmicks. We're very student centered; we focus on experiential learning and career preparation. Something that is a strength is that we have so many alumni in St. Louis area. They're a great network for us," Hahn said.

Three Rivers College

Headquartered in Poplar Bluff, Mo., Three Rivers College has centers in Sikeston, Mo., Dexter and Kennett, Mo. Altogether, enrollment reached 4,559 students. The Sikeston center, closest to Cape Girardeau, has 505 students and has become so popular, space is at a premium.

The school is taking bids for a single-story, 6,000-square-foot safe room/banquet lecture hall and a 38,000-square-foot, three-story classroom building.

Three Rivers has a 15-county area from which it draws most of its students. "If they're out of our service area, they're athletes or have extra scholarships," Three Rivers coordinator of media Jonathan Atwood said.

"We've got people who are degree seeking, getting their associate, and a small number get a four-year degree."

Four-year completion is offered at Three Rivers' centers through Central Methodist University and Hannibal-Lagrange University through live instruction or online, so students don't have to leave home, Atwood said.

Atwood said a number of students are on the A-plus program, which reimburses their tuition if students meet certain criteria. Eligible students graduate from a designated A-plus high school with an overall grade-point average of 2.5, having at least a 95 percent attendance record overall for grades nine through 12; performing at least 50 hours of unpaid tutoring or mentoring, of which up to 25 percent may include job shadowing; and maintaining a record of good citizenship and avoiding the unlawful use of drugs and/or alcohol, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website.

Additionally, at the Cape Girardeau Partnership for Higher Education, Three Rivers and Southeast offer an associate of arts degree, and Mineral Area College offers an associate of applied science degree.

In its unofficial count, Poplar Bluff-based Three Rivers said 12 percent of its students come from Sikeston; 10 percent from Dexter; 7 percent from Kennett; 5 percent from Cape Girardeau; and 3 percent from Malden, Mo.

Atwood noted student enrollment numbers are duplicated counts, meaning if a student is taking classes at Dexter and Malden, for example, he or she is included in both figures.

Southern Illinois University

With its enrollment of 17,964, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale still gets the majority of its students from Illinois, but it has a sizable international population. Since 2009, SIU has offered Border State Alternate Tuition Rate -- basically in-state tuition -- to students in Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. Different rates also are applied for legacies and good students, said Rod Sievers, assistant to the chancellor for media relations.

According to its most recent state-by-state figures, SIU enrolled 491 students from Missouri, 109 from Kentucky, 219 from Indiana, 54 from Arkansas and 159 from Tennessee for the 2013-2014 school year.

An SIU news release said the class of 2017 includes students from 30 states and 24 counties.

"Significant changes in student recruitment, which included introducing SIU to thousands of students nationwide with new recruitment materials and national outreach strategies, led to a record 14,118 applicants for admission," the release said.

Chief marketing and communications officer Rae Goldsmith said St. Louis and Missouri have been fruitful in terms of attracting students.

"We have indeed seen increases in students from St. Louis and Missouri due in part to our growing focus on the area and in part since the Border State Alternate Tuition Rate was initiated in 2009. We have several admissions counselors focused on St. Louis, but do not have an office given its proximity to Carbondale. In short, it's an area of growth for us in terms of focus as well as success," Goldsmith said.

However, overall enrollment in the last five years is down. Goldsmith said SIU has seen declines in transfer students and those who take classes off-site. School officials cite national economic pressures on students and families.

"We are focused on our enrollment, as are many other institutions," Goldsmith said, adding the university is focusing on financial aid, branding and "telling our story" to more people.

SIU contracted with Lipman Hearne of Chicago to fine-tune its enrollment strategies, Sievers said. "Revamped messaging, recruiting materials and branding strategies were all part of the package. SIU recruited a larger pool of students than ever before, offered improved scholarship packages, and gave renewed attention to student services," he said.

"You may have heard that all new freshmen were given a Windows tablet computers. Well, that computer contained some textbooks the students would need, along with apps that dealt with many things on campus, such as class scheduling and bill payment," Sievers said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL