Guest Column: State's A+ program meets labor needs

This year marks the 15th anniversary of Missouri's A+ Schools Program, one of the greatest gifts left to the state by Gov. Mel Carnahan.

It is a one-of-a-kind program that has opened the doors of Missouri's community colleges to thousands of eligible high-school students. Through the years, the state legislature has wisely continued to invest in this vital program and provide the seed money for thousands of students who might otherwise never consider or attempt to go to college because of financial restraints.

While Missouri remains near the bottom nationally in overall higher education funding, I am proud that the money our state leaders appropriated for the A+ program has proven to be a very wise investment. It has resulted in thousands of students gaining the education and training necessary to achieve good-paying jobs that, in the end, provide the state with tax revenues that far exceed the appropriation for the A+ program.

When the program began, Ozarks Technical Community College was home to just 70 A+ students. This year, there are about 1,700 A+ students enrolled at OTC. In all, more than 14,000 students have used A+ funds to attend OTC and earn an associate's degree, complete workforce training or advance to a four-year institution.

All Springfield schools are now A+ schools. Initially, the A+ program was designed to help reduce the high-school drop-out rate and assist the state's businesses and industries fill their ranks with well-educated and trained workers. But the program has gone on to spur many more high-school students to work hard to meet the requirements to qualify for the A+ program and experience a community college education.

Among those students to advance from OTC because of the A+ program are:

• Chad Porter, of Rogersville High School, who earned his degree and was employed by OTC before going on to work for Trane Co.;

• Joseph Warren, another Rogersville graduate, who earned his degree in respiratory therapy and now works at the Los Angeles Children's Hospital; and

• Amy Mead, who received an Associate of Arts in summer 2006 and then returned to earn a degree in dental hygiene.

There are thousands more just like them who can credit their academic and economic success to the state program.

Here are some perks in the A+ program:

• High-school students develop basic skills through a rigorous program of academic and technical education that leads to postsecondary education;

• High-school administrators see students stay in school to complete their education and qualify for the A+ program;

• Community colleges welcome students who are better prepared for the college experience and spend less time on remedial and developmental programs; and

• Employers can choose from a better-educated pool of students that can help fill shortages of skilled workers.

The state can tout its A+ program as one that develops skilled employees, who, in turn, attract those companies in need of such workers that result in more state tax revenue produced by those companies and their A+ educated labor force.

Demands in the work force for skilled employees are better met because students can access unique programs in the community colleges that aren't offered elsewhere.

The A+ program is intended specifically for Missouri students to make use of Missouri community colleges. As a result, more than 97 percent of the students attending Missouri community colleges are from Missouri.

The A+ program is a good program. It has helped Missouri students make good use of our community colleges and the state make good use of the skilled workers the community colleges have produced.

Hal Higdon is president of Ozarks Technical Community College. He can be reached at higdonh@otc.edu.[[In-content Ad]]