Three Rivers proposes center in Cape County

Three Rivers Community College plans to open an education center in Cape Girardeau by fall 2008, subject to approval from the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education, school officials said Friday.

The late-afternoon announcement caught state and local education officials by surprise.

Cape Girardeau businesswoman Kathy Swan, who chairs the coordinating board, said the board has yet to review the plan. Swan said the issue could come before the board as early as October.

The proposal by the community college, based in Poplar Bluff, Mo., comes amid efforts by some community, education and business leaders to study the feasibility of establishing a community college in Cape Girardeau.

Officials at Three Rivers said the plan, approved by the school's governing board, is a response to public discussion about the need for affordable community college classes in Cape Girardeau County.

"The Three Rivers move to Cape County is an exciting prospect that should resolve the debate," said Dr. Larry Kimbrow, the school's executive vice president.

"It will provide community college services at no cost to the Cape County taxpayer," he said. "We'll use our revenue or reserve funds."

Three Rivers wants to find an existing building of 25,000 square feet in Cape Girardeau and renovate it for use as an education center, Kimbrow said. The location could be anywhere from downtown Cape Girardeau to the area along Interstate 55, he said.

But Southeast Missouri State University president Dr. Ken Dobbins said he was surprised Three Rivers would proceed with such a plan without waiting on a state needs analysis being pushed by local civic leaders and state higher education officials.

Kimbrow said the state study would take too long and involves the whole Southeast Missouri region.

"We have already done our needs assessment, and I feel comfortable the need is there," he said. "The students are definitely there."

Cape Girardeau businessman Earl Norman has long advocated establishment of a community college. He has proposed expanding the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center and turning it into a community college. He said a state study is needed to determine the post-secondary education needs of the region and avoid unnecessary duplication of courses and college programs.

Career center director Rich Payne questioned Three Rivers' plan. The community college, he said, has shown no interest in working with the career center while both Mineral Area College of Park Hills, Mo., and Southeast offer classes at the career center.

Dobbins said Three Rivers proposed the plan without getting approval from Southeast as required by a coordinating board policy. That policy, he said, gives Southeast the first right of refusal to teach general education courses in Cape Girardeau County.

Kimbrow said the policy is unique to the area. He said other community colleges in the state coexist with universities.

Students in the Cape Girardeau area who can't meet Southeast's admissions standards would benefit from having an open-enrollment community college center, he said.

"We'll be reaching out to those who have no intention at this point or cannot qualify to go to Southeast Missouri State University," Kimbrow said.

The Cape Girardeau center would offer associate of arts degrees in subjects such as sociology, forensic science and prepharmacy as well as applied science degrees in agri-technology, early childhood development, forestry and health technology.

Southeast Missourian staff writers Peg McNichol, Matt Sanders and Managing Editor Bob Miller contributed to this story.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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