GO WEST ... AND EAST AND NORTH AND SOUTH

University outreach centers, continuing education programs and a microcomputing center located throughout the metro area and into the reaches of western Missouri continue to promote UM-St. Louis' presence in the region, and beyond

EXTENSION CENTERS

by Josh Stegeman

The University Outreach and Extension Program is a service utilizing the Missouri land-grant universities' resources and faculty to meet the needs of the citizens of Missouri.

UM-St. Louis is located in the East Central Region of the Extension's services which is composed of 10 counties/ The University Outreach and Extension Center provides unbiased, research-based information from the UM System and Lincoln University in Jefferson City to the surrounding communities.

"Originally the intent was to bring university research to the people," Roxanne Miller, an information specialist serving in the St. Louis County area, said.

The Extension program developed from the national Cooperative Extension Service established by Congress in 1914.

The University Extension program now employs specialists in five primary theme areas: Community Development, Environmental Quality, Economic & Employment Issues, Family Strengths, and Nutrition and Health. There are 44 faculty experts serving the East Central Region.

By phoning or emailing one of the ten county offices, a citizen may obtain information for classes, workshops, seminars, conferences, demonstrations and other various information technologies supplied by the different experts in the individual counties, Miller said.

There are many different areas addressed by each county because the individual counties have different needs to be met for their citizens. Lincoln County has a livestock specialist, Franklin County employs a agronomy (agriculture) specialist, and St. Louis County contains an urban youth and family specialist.

The program is a three - level operation run by federal, state, and county funds.

Because of this support, in most cases there is no cost to the citizen requiring service except for a nominal fee for cost recoveries (travel, lodging, meals) and publications.

One of the unique features of the Missouri Extension program is that it is the only state coordinating both land - grant universities: the four University of Missouri schools and Lincoln University, a university established in 1890, by the state of Missouri for minority students, particularly African Americans.

MICROCOMPUTING CENTER

by David Baugher

UM-St. Louis is currently offering non-credit computer skills courses at its West County Computer Center.

Allen Crean, who directs the program, said the classes, which typically cost between $119 and $200, include everything from basic Windows tutorials to more advanced courses in desktop publishing, databases, spreadsheets and programming languages.

The Microcomputer Program, run under the auspices of the University's Continuing Education and Outreach, was launched fifteen years ago with a single on-campus lab catering to a few thousand students, Crean said.

In 1988, it was moved to the present West County facility where it has since expanded to nine labs serving more than 25,000 students a year.

"We wanted a central location so we picked it because it was near 270 and 40," he said. "We could appeal to people driving up from the south, the west or downtown."

He noted that most of the program's participants are out of college and already have careers.

"This program is aimed more at students who would already have a degree, and most likely they're out working in a profession," Crean said. "It enables them to keep up with the changes in technology."

Keeping up with those changes often presents a challenge for the center as well as the students.

"The software is constantly changing," Crean said, "and area businesses, corporations and students want to have the very latest so we have to constantly upgrade our classes."

Crean said the hardware is also upgraded regularly.

He expects the last of the Center's old 486 processors to be replaced with advanced Pentium chips this fall. Most of the labs already feature Pentiums.

EDUCATION PARK

by Bill Rolfes

UM-St. Louis will be home to the new St. Louis Regional Education Park as soon as the Med North building on Florissant Road becomes available.

Educational organizations, agencies and schools are planning to move their offices into the 22,000 square foot building. The idea is to create a "sense of community" by bringing the groups together on common ground, says Charles Schmitz, dean of the School of Education.

"Once people start occupying the same space - using the same building, the same parking lot, the same dining hall - they start talking together and sharing ideas," Schmitz said.

The Education Park will occupy UM-St. Louis land, but it does not carry the University's logo.

Schmitz said getting partners to join was difficult at first.

"I had to explain that creating the St Louis Regional Education Park is not about UMSL taking over the world," Schmitz said. "It's physically and symbolically logical."

UM-St. Louis also has the largest school of education in the region, Schmitz added.

Medical offices are still in the Med North building, but construction crews have already begun renovation.

Tom Schnell, associate dean of the School of Education, said the "projected grand opening" date for the Education Park is Nov. 1.

"They are taking down walls and putting up walls and wiring and painting," Schnell said. "There's a lot to be done, but I think we can make it by Nov. 1 if we don't have too many interruptions."

EDUCATION CENTERS

by David Baugher

Education centers in St. Charles and Jefferson Counties are bringing the dream of a college education a little closer to home for some UM-St. Louis students.

The centers, run by Outreach Development, offer junior and senior level courses to students for whom travel to the main campus isn't feasible.

The project began in 1994 with the opening of a center on the campus of the St. Charles Community College, offering a variety of credit courses to UM students. A year later the program began offering courses at Fox High School in Arnold and at Jefferson College in Hillsboro. By last fall, the campuses had expanded to offer full degree programs in Business Administration, Elementary Education and Nursing.

One of the things that makes the program so successful, DeGregorio said, is that it makes education accessible to "non-traditional" students. These include older, primarily female students with jobs, families and other responsibilities who wish to complete their education. He reports that three-quarters of enrollees are women.

"The average age of our students is clearly over thirty years old," DeGregorio said. "They may have gotten married and had children."

Geography is also a factor.

"What the statistics show is that in those outlying counties, the college participation rate is lower than the state average," DeGregorio said. "We're definitely meeting a demand out there."

DeGregorio estimates that one-fifth of classes at the centers are made possible through the use of new telecommunications equipment that allows students and teachers in different locations to interact with one another.

Plans under consideration include putting additional centers in other counties.