There are conceptual drawings of what a 52,000-70,000 square foot facility for East Central College in Rolla would look like. There is $16 million sitting in the bank. There are plans for the facility through its three-tiered educational and training options to have a huge economic impact on the region beginning in January 2027 when the facility opens. The only thing missing is a site.
“If you have a 15-acre site that is very buildable, I will be right here at the end of the program and will be all ears,” East Central College President Dr. Jon Bauer dead-panned near the end of his presentation to the Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce in October.
Earlier in the day he met with the newly formed ECC Rolla Advisory Council to update them on where the school is in its quest for a facility under one roof that could, as he puts it, be “profound for the community.
“There are 12 community colleges in Missouri. You are talking about 114 counties, a handful of communities that have a community college presence to provide pathways for students to get to college, to work, to change and enhance the economic trajectory of their lives and the lives of their families.”
Between the Oct. 18 advisory council meeting and the chamber meeting that day, Bauer and others from ECC had discussions on a site. To date, there has been no announcement. But as soon as that announcement is made and a site secured, ECC will go full speed ahead. They hope to have property secured by the end of the year or early 2024. Then plans can be finalized, ground broken, construction underway and a ribbon cutting by 2027.
This means a lot for Rolla and the rest of Phelps County. It also means a lot for the entire region, as ECC, founded in 1968 and based in Union, will be key to training for everything from nursing and welding to advanced manufacturing and construction trades. Many of those skills cannot be taught online.
“When we look at the next chapter in this story of East Central College working in Rolla, what we really need to do is get all of our operations, all of our programs and services under one roof, well designed, with a college experience with the programs we have now and programs we want to have in the future,” Bauer said.
Several times during the advisory and chamber meetings the impact this would have on not only Phelps County, but the region. Students who would have to travel far for some of this training will be able to do so with a short drive, meaning the can train and enter the workforce without leaving home.
Bauer talked about three tiers available at ECC. 1) students who enter on the A-Plus program that earn associates’ degrees and transfer to four-year institutions. 2) Career-ready degrees, of which nursing and industrial engineering technology are good examples. 3) Non-credit training such as welding.
For many people in the region, enhancing those offerings at ECC would have a huge economic impact when it comes to training a local workforce.
ECC already has a big impact on the region, with a state-assigned service region of Franklin, Warren, Gasconade, Osage, Maries, Phelps, Dent, Washington, Montgomery, St. Charles, Callaway and Crawford counties, according to the school.
There was a taxing district formed to support ECC, and it includes most of Franklin County and portions of Crawford, Gasconade, St. Charles, Warren and Washington counties.
Students who live in the taxing district pay $162 per credit hour, while students who don’t reside in the taxing district pay $211. Bauer says the cost of ECC is one-third that of private or four-year institutions. High school students who qualify on the A+ program pay no tuition.
ECC had an enrollment of 2,600 in the fall, with 391 of those in Rolla.
The numbers in Rolla are expected to skyrocket with the new facility and increased opportunities for education and training.
The dollars are there. A total of $3 million in federal funds for a Health Sciences Academy and $13 million in state ARPA funds are earmarked for the project. Other funding options are being sought to bring the total to $25-$35 million.
“The growth in Rolla is one of our five strategic priorities for the institution,” Bauer said. “That was set as a priority for the institution five years ago, and frankly, we are at the point we have millions of dollars set aside for a facility here.”
