Eastern takes nine-city tour to improve enrollment
University to place extensions in 22 southeast counties
Jenna Mink
Issue date: 10/25/07 Section: News
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Representatives from the Kentucky Council On Postsecondary Education (CPE) submitted its plan to double the number of Kentucky college graduates by 2020 to Eastern administrators Monday.
And university administrators highlighted their plans to increase enrollment and graduation at Eastern. The plans include placing Eastern extension agents in 22 counties in the southeast region of Kentucky. Eastern President Doug Whitlock said he has not established the extensions' details because he wants input from citizens of the counties that will be affected. "We will have to do a more effective job in serving the needs of the 22 county campuses," Whitlock said. "It can't all be done in Richmond."
So Eastern administrators went on a nine-city tour Tuesday, talking to city leaders about Eastern's growth plan and getting feedback about the proposed extension agents.
The extension agent idea is unique to any other university in the nation, said Brad Cowgill, CPE interim president. Whitlock said he wants the university to place extensions in the 22 counties by 2010.
The tour and the extension agents are some ways Eastern plans to meet the goals spelled out in "Double the Numbers," the CPE's written plan to increase college attendees and graduates.
"If anyone says to you, 'we cannot achieve this goal,' I would offer (this plan) as exhibit A. Yes we can," Cowgill said.
The plan says southeast Kentucky is Eastern Kentucky University's "area of geographic responsibility."
That includes a population of nearly 600,000. Eleven percent of the population has at least a bachelor's degree, and 38 percent does not have a high school diploma, according to the plan.
The plan asks Eastern to increase the number of bachelor's degrees from nearly 2,000 in 2007 to almost 2,400 in 2020. If the numbers double, the southeast region income could increase by $22,000.
Whitlock said this plan affects current students because it encourages them to finish college by reminding them of the financial benefits that come with a college degree.
"We've got too many people in the population who either never started or finished their education," Cowgill said. "We want them to come back."
