With his first semester behind him, Graham Mickleborough, president and CEO of Southeast Regional College, is looking forward to marketing the college in the new year.

Mickleborough took over the college in the fall after former SERC president Art Whetstone left Weyburn to become president at Keyano College in Fort McMurray, Alta.

The move to education was a significant change from his more than 20 years experience in the banking industry.

Mickleborough explained that while some management techniques are the same no matter where they are applied, he was surprised by the range and diversity of programs the college offers.

SERC offers a range of programs from first year university classes to trades training and English as a second language, as well as the opportunity for adults to earn their high school diplomas.

While Mickleborough is impressed by the programing at the college and the reputation SERC enjoys in the community, he is hoping to increase the level of awareness of the college and what it does.

The opportunity for students to take their first year of university at the college is one of the areas Mickleborough would like to make high school students and their parents more aware of.

Mickleborough touts the college's dropout rate for first year university students as one thing potential students should be aware of when deciding on where to attend school.

The dropout rate in SERC's first year university classes is four per cent while the U of R and the U of S have rates that range between 30 and 40 per cent.

"I think you'll see us even more active in the communities and promoting our awareness, both about the quality of education and what's available here and so we hope to capture more of the education market," said Mickleborough of the upcoming semester.

He would also like to improve the relationship between business and the college by offering courses that specifically meet the needs of local businesses.

Mickleborough envisions a business training institute similar to what the college already offers with the Energy Training Institute.

"If you talk to people in the service industry, they're always crying about the lack of qualified people and those that are trained in the service field," said Mickleborough.

His overall goal for SERC is to make the college more responsive to students and increase the number of students enrolled at the school.