MAKING COLLEGE AVAILABLE

Additional college opportunities are now available to area residents in Perryville. The Perry County Higher Education Center opens this week, thanks to a team effort by Southeast Missouri State University, Mineral Area College at Park Hills and the Perryville School District.

Both Mineral Area and Southeast are providing instructors for a handful of entry-level college classes this fall.

It is good to see a growing number of higher educational opportunities closer to home. That has been the secret to success at Southeast's Bootheel Education Center in Malden. And Shawnee Community College is trying its hand at closer-to-home community college opportunities by offering classes at the Cape Girardeau Vocational Technical School this fall.

These kinds of programs should especially appeal to non-traditional students, who must attend in the evening hours.

These programs exhibit a greater flexibility on the part of higher education to build a student base. These efforts should pay off in growing enrollments. Given the opportunity, many people want to continue their education beyond high school.