Three Rivers College continues to expand its online programs with Raider Connect, according to Dr. Wesley Payne, president.
Before the pandemic, TRC only aimed to have a fully automated Associate of Arts, he said. But from March 2020 to present, staff created 12 transfer pathways offering over 100 courses. They did this while negotiating a shifting teaching environment and even a computer hack at the beginning of 2020.
Payne shared the information Wednesday, during the monthly Board of Trustees meeting.
“The faculty of this institution, while they were trying to deal with a completely new instructional environment, went through a redesign process of their online courses and pushed through 135 different courses,” Payne said.
Now, TRC is expanding its remote capabilities with Raider Connect, providing students with every resource TRC’s campuses offer, accessible from anywhere in the world.
“You can do every process at this college remotely. You can be advised, you can register, you can apply. You can start classes, take your classes, receive tutoring, receive counseling — all of the things that make a student successful are available,” Payne continued.
Raider Connect had to be integrated into all operational systems of the college. The school also set up an extensive system of touchpoints to congratulate students for doing well in class, and put them in communication with their faculty and advisors if they are struggling or missing classes.
“So what you’ve done is build a team around the student to push them forward for retention and completion and success,” Payne said.
He thanked staff and educators for not only keeping TRC afloat in the era of COVID, but pushing it into the future.
“I can assure you that this institution has responded and moved forward in the last two years in a way that very, very few other institutions have,” he said.
Liberal Arts Week festivities were held April 20-22, and this year’s focus was Egypt and Egyptian culture. Sherry Phelan, dean of instruction and chief academic officer, said events included lectures, an interactive art exhibit and the return of the annual Poetry Slam. Associate English Professor Tiechera Samuell said about 68 attended the latter, which had been on a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. She took the attendance and participation of students as a positive sign for future liberal arts celebrations.
“We plan on continuing with Liberal Arts Week and look to the future,” Samuell said.
Will Cooper, department chair of career studies & workforce development, reviewed the 73rd annual T.E.A.M. Industrial Technology Fair held April 22. TRC has hosted the fair for over 20 years. Cooper was thrilled with the scope of participants and projects.
“Less and less schools are having those kinds of programs but some schools are just doing away with them altogether. Some schools have switched over to Ag. But to have 211 projects with seven schools is actually pretty remarkable,” Cooper said.
Music professor Buddy White updated the board on two recent performances, “The 23rd Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” musical by the college’s Center Stage group, and the music department’s Spring Concert. Both were well attended, he said.
“We put the community back in our community college and it’s good to be back, for me personally and for the programs we’ve been able to do this year,” he said.
Payne took opportunity to thank staff, speaking of a recent employee appreciation luncheon.
“What makes Three Rivers the great place that it is, is the people that we were appreciating that day. They’re the ones that make this happen. They are the ones that have pushed us forward,” he said.
Financial officer Charlotte Eubank reported school finances remained in a good position, especially since property tax revenue was higher than the school anticipated. She also reported the completion of the Sikeston campus’s new roof.
Board Chair Chris Williams ended the meeting by honoring former chair Gary Featherston with a plaque for outstanding service as chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2021-22.