EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS ARE PROMISING

A good partnership can mean all the difference between success and failure. That's the reasoning behind a new higher education partnership involving five colleges and universities.

Higher education partners plan to build on each institution's strengths to provide greater learning opportunities in the region. It is a sensible approach that could benefit both traditional and non-traditional students and the region at large.

Members of the Southeast Missouri Educational Consortium include:

-- Southeast Missouri State University

-- University of Missouri

-- Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff

-- Mineral Area College at Park Hills

-- Lincoln University in Jefferson City

The consortium represents a diverse mix of community and four-year colleges. Its roots date back to the fall of 1996.

The focus of the group will be technical training and college courses. That is certainly a good start.

The consortium ties in with the university's efforts to provide more technology training for the region. If colleges and universities want to serve the business needs of the region, technology should be an increasingly important component. Many of the new jobs are on the information highway, and higher education must jump aboard.

Ultimately, this consortium could pay major dividends to the region's economy. Better skilled workers will make for more productive industries, and will also help to attract more jobs.

In an age of limited resources, taxpayers can no longer afford unnecessary duplication of services in higher education. This partnership will help to ensure that duplication in the region remains at a minimum.

The partnership also goes hand-in-hand with the booming information highway. Long distance learning via the Internet and interactive television already exist. This kind of technology will make it easier for such partnerships to thrive.

This consortium will also allow more people to obtain advanced degrees without long commutes.

This group can work to make higher education more accessible throughout the region. To do so, it must address the fact that less than 10 percent of the people in many parts of southern Missouri have college degrees. Missouri is 39th in the nation in the college-attendance rate.

This higher education consortium is a work in progress. But so far, it appears this partnership is on the right track.