More strong words: Three Rivers president says Southeast's Dobbins refuses to communicate

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Three Rivers Community College and Southeast Missouri State University are debating over Missouri Department of Higher Education public policy, to decide whether Arkansas State University at Jonesboro should be allowed to come between the in-state institutions.

In a statement issued Friday, Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins pointed out MDHE recently posted a dozen out-of-state proposals to deliver degrees in Missouri, such as the nursing program he is seeking to establish in Kennett with ASU.

While Dobbins says the potential partnership would be nothing new for the Show-Me State, Three Rivers president Dr. Devin Stephenson is calling mission creep.

"The issue is your continued attempts to usurp the responsibilities of Three Rivers and your continued willingness to ignore public policy by refusing to communicate with Three Rivers," Stephenson responded in an e-mail sent to Dobbins Monday.

The Southeast Missourian reported Friday that Dobbins claimed Three Rivers has been asked to deliver a nursing program at Southeast's regional campus in Kennett "at least three times over the past decade."

Stephenson, who assumed his post last year, replied that he finds it "inconceivable" that Dobbins would consider prior communication with a previous administration sufficient notification of a new attempt to provide an associate degree.

If Three Rivers has changed its past position on collaborating with Southeast, Dobbins wrote he would be "happy to discuss such options," as there are unmet health care needs in Kennett.

Three Rivers is "more than open to meeting the educational needs for which it is responsible," Stephenson replied, but added he is unaware of a recent needs analysis, as required by the Missouri State Board of Nursing prior to program approval. The hearing with the state nursing board is slated for March.

In addition to its main campus in Poplar Bluff, Three Rivers currently offers the associate of applied science in nursing degree at its extended learning center in Sikeston.

After being made aware of the nursing degree pursuit in nearby Kennett, which is in Three Rivers' designated voluntary service area, Stephenson wrote his initial letter last Tuesday, reminding Dobbins that Southeast is a moderately selective university, while Three Rivers is an open-admission community college.

Dobbins explained Southeast is merely being responsive to the needs of Missouri citizens, finding "alternative ways" to provide increased access to associate degrees, as required of post-secondary education systems in public policy 7.1.

Stephenson argued that when there is an unmet need, other colleges may deliver the coursework upon notifying the local institution delegated primary responsibility for the lower-division coursework, as stated in public policy 9.2.

"I can find no way to interpret your actions other than to determine that you really do not wish to have open, cooperative and collaborative communications or else you would have had the professionalism to contact me prior to taking action," Stephenson concluded in his letter today that he provided to the Daily American Republic.

A decade ago, Three Rivers shared Southeast's center in Kennett, teaching lower-division courses, but the two institutions engaged in a legal battle over rent beginning in 2005.

Three Rivers promptly opened competing centers in the Bootheel, and Southeast reduced its fee structure for freshman and sophomore classes, "comparable in cost to what students were paying for community college courses," according to a press release put out this month by Southeast's news bureau.

The university partnered with the Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences to offer an LPN-RN bridge program in Kennett in 2006, but it was discontinued last month.

Since Three Rivers dropped its lawsuit with Southeast two years ago, the institutions worked out an agreement to provide community college services in Cape Girardeau County, with approval of the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education. About 200 students are taking classes through the Cape Girardeau Partnership for Higher Education for the first time this current fall semester.

This past May, Three Rivers submitted a proposal to the CBHE to offer associate degree programs at its centers in Kennett, Malden and Sikeston. A week later, the Southeast board of regents charged Dobbins with seeking approval to offer two-year degrees in the same locations.

The institutions were instead able to agree upon a reverse transfer option, allowing Southeast students to transfer up to 52 credits to Three Rivers, and then complete a minimum of 12 credit hours in order to obtain an associate degree.

"If the board of regents wants SEMO to become a community college, they need to change their mission," Stephenson said in an interview today. "Three Rivers hasn't pursued granting baccalaureate degrees, but if the CBHE isn't going to enforce public policy, then I think all options should be on the table."

A Southeast spokesperson said Dobbins would not comment until he received the communication.