Enrollment at the Three Rivers College Center at Dexter crossed the 300 mark this week.
“People are hearing about the college,” said center coordinator Bill Hampton. “It seems like everyone wants to further their education for the possibility of a better job and a better living.”
Enrollment has nearly tripled at the Dexter center since its opening in January of last year.
Spring 2012 registration continues at the Three Rivers main campus in Poplar Bluff and at all its full-service centers until Friday, Jan. 13.
“Last year, we had a very short time frame in which to notify people and potential students that we would be opening on time,” said Hampton. “Many students who were graduating from high school that May had already chosen to go to school somewhere else. The graduation of the 2011 class from the local high schools has really helped.”
Hampton reports, however, that not all students are traditional recent high school graduates.
“We’re seeing students from all walks of life,” said Hampton. “We’re seeing Dexter graduates as well as workers returning to the classroom to improve their job skills, and everything in between. We just registered a young man who has been serving with the Marines, and is back to brush up on math courses. He wants to start here, transfer and become an engineer. We have some who are taking college courses while still in high school. We have people in their 50s and 60s coming in to take computer classes. Our diesel mechanics class is almost completely full, and three women are taking that class. This is not gender-specific or limited by age or background.”
Other exciting news at the Dexter Center includes the completion of the new science lab. The fully equipped classroom will allow students to take college science classes, like biology, physics, and anatomy and physiology, closer to home. The lab will be ready in time for spring classes, which begin Jan. 17.
“This is top-notch,” said Dr. Wes Payne, Vice President for Learning at Three Rivers College. “This will absolutely make us all proud.”
Hampton reports16 students have enrolled in the popular green diesel mechanics program (unique to Dexter) for the spring. The intensive program accepts only 20 students, provides tools and costs thousands less than comparable diesel mechanics schools in Nashville and beyond.
Two new courses are being offered at the Dexter center for the Spring 2012 semester - Entrepreneurship on Tuesday evenings at 6:30, and Professional Selling on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Hampton will teach the Professional Selling course.
“I’m looking forward to it, we have nine enrolled already,” said Hampton, who has over 35 years of experience in sales, ranging from work in insurance to TV advertisements. “The class will also feature several guest speakers: local salespeople who work in everything from cars to insurance. This will provide a more diverse, interactive learning experience and foster networking to build a more educated, connected community. People are interested in a better way of life, and they can get that at Three Rivers College.”
Link Of Interest
Photos Above - Top Photo: Three Rivers lab assistant and Dexter resident Samantha Gerecke tests out a microscope in the new lab at the college's Dexter center. On hand were (from left) center co-coordinator Ann Mathews, facilitator Jennifer Whitesell, Doug and Loretta Gerecke and student Haley Segel; Second photo: Students #300 and #301 at the Dexter center - Abby Cobb and Jason Kohlbaker of Dexter - registered for local classes on Tuesday. (Three Rivers Photos)
