NORTHEAST SEEKS MORE VISIBILE IMAGE IN MISSOURI; UNIVERSITY WANTS A BROADER REACH THROUGHOUT STATE

Northeast Missouri State University at Kirksville is the state's designated liberal arts school, but in some areas of the state, such as southern Missouri, it is a little-known entity.

Northeast officials hope to change that.

On Monday, the university's president, Russell G. Warren, and three other officials of the institution visited Cape Girardeau to publicize the school. They met with members of the editorial board of the Southeast Missourian and then made a presentation at a meeting of the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club.

Warren stressed that Northeast is not trying to compete with the regional institutions such as Southeast in recruiting students.

At one time, Northeast was a regional institution. But since 1986, the school near the Iowa border has served as the state's premier, public liberal arts institution. Its mission is spelled out in state law.

But while the school has a statewide mission, it has little visibility for the general public south of Interstate 70, Warren said.

He said university officials hope to change that situation by visiting various areas of the state, such as Cape Girardeau.

"We're pulling some 30 percent of our students out of St. Louis, 18 percent out of Kansas City, and more and more out of Chicago," said Warren.

But, he added, the university has "just not paid enough attention" to areas of the state such as Springfield and Cape Girardeau.

Enrollment at Northeast has stabilized in the range of 5,600 to 6,200 in recent years, as high academic requirements have attracted better students.

Warren said the average ACT score at the school has climbed from about 18.5 to 25.5 in six years. "We are now attracting a very different kind of student."

While the school wants to keep a limited enrollment, Warren said it's important to continue to recruit students who want a liberal arts education.

"We want to be sure we really have students who want that broad education."

Warren said one reason the school is a little-known entity to many Missourians is the fact it is situated in a corner of the state that is not served by an interstate highway.

Many people, he said, still mistakenly think of Northeast as a regional institution.

When Northeast was designated as the state's liberal arts school, some people in the Kirksville area were upset, feeling they were losing their regional institution, Warren said.

"There was a feeling that they were really disadvantaged and cut off," he recalled.

But that has changed, said Warren, as the public has seen that many of the students from that part of the state are meeting enrollment requirements.

While the university is trying to do a better job of promoting itself, Warren said that satisfied graduates are the best recruiting tool.

"The best way to recruit students is to recruit a few, make sure they have a good experience and let them go home," he said.

"Historically, we have been known as a liberal arts school that assesses (what students are learning). We are able to document what they learn."

The school is now embarking on a five-to-seven-year "Higher Order of Excellence" plan to develop an "active learning" environment.

Warren said such an approach will focus more on participatory learning than listening to classroom lectures.

"Blatantly put, we don't think students learn a lot sitting in a classroom," he pointed out.

A university brochure about the plan notes that "students learn to play a musical instrument, paint a portrait and achieve comfort on stage, not only by taking notes in a lecture environment, but also by practicing a musical instrument, wielding a brush and palette, or exercising a singing or speaking voice."

The brochures goes on to say that "active learning is participatory learning, not sideline observation."

Warren said that with participatory learning, academic emphasis will be placed less on what students know and more on what they can achieve with their knowledge, attitudes and skills.

Additional funding is needed to implement the plan, he said. The school hopes to obtain funding from private sources such as foundations.