Missouri officials announced last week that nearly $9 million worth of grants — $1 million of which was given to Southwest Missouri — will help develop so-called “innovation campuses” to help students complete their degrees sooner and land jobs in high-need fields.
The projects involve partnerships between colleges and universities, businesses and school districts to help students earn college credits and get work experience. Locally, the collaboration includes Missouri Southern State University, the Joplin School District, Franklin Technology Center, Crowder College and the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We will prepare students for the careers of tomorrow, cut the time it takes to earn a degree and reduce the burden of student debt,” Gov. Jay Nixon said during a news conference last week at Lincoln University in central Missouri. “That’s a win-win for our colleges and universities, a win for Missouri businesses and, most importantly, a win for Missouri students.”
Joplin students who participate in the program will be able to take college-level courses during high school in a number of career paths: business/information technology, technical sciences, human services, arts and communication, and health sciences.
The goal is to help students graduate with a bachelor’s degree within three years after high school, said Tia Strait, dean of the MSSU School of Health Sciences, Public Safety and Technology.
Students in the program could take up to 30 credit hours of college-level, dual-credit courses — for which there normally is a fee — during their junior and senior years, essentially completing a full year of college while still in high school, she said. That could save them about $6,000 in tuition, she said.
“There are a lot of students who have the aptitude and ability to complete dual-credit (courses), but they don’t have the resources to” do so, she said. “The grant will help them take dual credit whether they have the resources or not.”
The program will initially be open only to Joplin High School students, though it could eventually be broadened to include other schools, said Kerry Sachetta, principal of Joplin High School. A majority of dual-credit courses already in Joplin’s curriculum are offered through MSSU. Any courses added as part of the program would be offered through either MSSU or Crowder, he said.
Sachetta said the program also would bring MSSU and Crowder guidance and admissions counselors to the high school more frequently to visit with students.
Another part of the grant would increase opportunities for job shadowing and internships with local businesses and industries so students can “test drive” a career or profession that interests them before arriving at college, Strait said.
The first innovation campus was developed by the University of Central Missouri and set up in Lee’s Summit. After that, the governor’s administration sought applications to offer more innovation programs that will be funded through community development block grants.
Innovation campuses in Greene County, St. Louis, St. Charles County, St. Joseph and Cape Girardeau also are getting $1 million grants, it was announced last week. A project in Johnson County will receive $996,975 and a campus in Rolla will get $945,000.
Applications
The application process is expected to begin by February, with the first round of applicants beginning classes through the program in fall 2013.
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Grant to create ‘innovation campus’ in Joplin
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