By Melissa Haworth-Cox
Assistant yeardisc editor
An agreement signed on Feb. 25 by Southeastern President Larry Minks and Grayson President Jeremy McMillen describes the possible expansion of many Southeastern academic programs to the Grayson College campus in Van Alstyne, Texas, according to an SE news release.
Director of Academic Affairs Douglas McMillan said, “The two institutions have been discussing this for about a year.”
The SE news release said that in 2005 the Southeastern campus expanded programs to Grayson County College’s main campus in Denison with a higher education teaching center that offers the Southeastern elementary education program.
This program allows students to take classes at Grayson County College in Denison taught by Southeastern instructors in order to earn a four-year degree at Southeastern.
McMillan said, “Grayson expressed interest in joint programming at their growing Van Alsytne campus. We believed the timing was right to offer programs at this location, while keeping programs intact at the Denison campus.”
In the agreement awaiting approval from Oklahoma higher education authorities and the Higher Learning Commission, McMillan said, Southeastern is attempting to expand this program by offering courses at the Grayson campus in Van Alstyne.
McMillan said, “…we are hopeful of offering our occupational safety and health program and a variety of other programs at Van Alstyne.”
According to McMillan, since the agreement is awaiting approval, the Southeastern campus is unable to begin scheduling.
If the agreement is approved, the offered programs at the Van Alstyne Campus tuition and price per class will remain the same as other courses at the Grayson County campus, according to McMillan.
Assessment Management System Coordinator Dr. Aaron Adair said, “SE intends to deliver in a variety of formats based on student demand.”
Therefore the classes offered to the Van Alstyne campus will most likely be a mixture of IETV, online, blended and face-to-face classes, according to Adair.
McMillan said, “All classes on the Durant campus that are currently being offered will not be affected by the offerings at Van Alstyne.”
There will not be a high student-teacher ratio for the expanded program classes taught at the Van Alstyne campus, according to McMillan.
To the contrary, McMillan said “We hope this will grow our enrollment. “
Those teaching the classes for the expanding programs to Van Alstyne are likely to be a permanent faculty requesting to teach there and adjunct faculty members, according to McMillan.
There is potential for teachers to have to commute between Van Alstyne and Durant to teach their classes if they choose to do so, according to McMillan and Adair.’
McMillan said, however, he believes the Southeastern campus “will be able to find adjunct instructors…in the north Texas area.”
The Van Alstyne campus did not originally have any programs resembling those to be offered by Southeastern, according to McMillan.
However, Adair said that we have also offered programs to University Center of Southern Oklahoma in Ardmore, the McAlester Outreach Center, and our McCurtain County Campus in Idabel.
Adair said that “Department Chairs are the Dean of Instruction will be working with GC-South faculty to determine offerings based on need.”
McMillan said that offering these programs will “provide higher education opportunities and programs that aren’t readily available in an area of north Texas that is experiencing rapid growth.”
Adair said that offering these programs at the Van Alstyne campus will give students “the potential to continue from an associate’s degree at GC-Denison or GC-South to a bachelor’s degree at SE without having to travel great distances to do so.”