Public universities will still accept graduates from unaccredited high schools

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (MISSOURI DIGITAL NEWS) - The Director of the Council on Public Higher Education says public universities are accepting unaccredited high school graduates. But universities may only so temporarily.

After Kansas city schools lost accredidation last week, The Director of the Council on Public Higher Education says students shouldn't worry - yet.

The director, Brian Long, says some public state universities will waive the admission requirement of graduation from an accredited school district for now.

"As long as these high schools continue to work with our state department of elementary and secondary education and regain accreditation, the graduates from those high schools should not be negatively impacted," Long said.

The state universities waived this requirement based on grounds that that school districts will continue to work with the state to improve their status with the Board of Education.

Ashley Massow, Missouri Digital News

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Fall enrollment at MAC should reach 4,000

PARK HILLS, MO (KRCU) - Enrollment at Mineral Area College this fall is set to stay on course with numbers the college had last year.

So far, nearly 3,700 students are enrolled at MAC. That number is expected to increase to 4,000 after more dual-credit students enroll and when second eight-week classes begin.

Jean Merrill-Doss is Mineral Area College’s Dean of Student Services. She says the last few years have brought some of the highest enrollment numbers in Mineral Area’s history.

"There’s that magic trend when the economy goes south, enrollment goes north," Merrill-Doss says. "With education, because more people come back and try to get additional training when they can’t find jobs, so they go to college, and there’s lot of training money available. A lot of young students, coming out of high school, with the economy in bad shape, may end up coming to a community college rather than a four-year school because of costs.”

Merrill-Doss says there has been a strong uptick towards short-term technical training, such as their truck driver school.

The College will have more detailed demographic data about their Fall 2011 students within the next couple of weeks.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Nixon calls for performance-based higher education funding

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Governor Jay Nixon announced a shift in Missouri’s higher education formula at last week’s Higher Education Summit.

Nixon wants to change to a performance-based model instead of an across-the-board approach when higher education allocations increase.

Mineral Area College president Steve Kurtz is strongly in favor of basing funding by meeting key performance indicators. He says his college already keeps track of many of the indicators the state will likely use.

"For us, we already have that culture at the institution," Kurtz said. "It’s just, how do we move with the implementation of a performance-funding model?"

Southeast Missouri State University president Ken Dobbins also favors a performance model and Southeast already tracks its own performance as a whole and within departments. He hopes the governor looks at a rolling average instead of basing funding on individual years because one cannot predict when budget increases will appear and an off year on benchmarks is always possible.

"A three to five year average I think everyone has agreed that’s good both on the numbers you are looking at so far as the benchmarking and also for the overall percentage that you’re going to get of new funding," Dobbins said.

The model is still under development. Officials from the Department of Higher Education indicate there will be three or four statewide goals for each institution to meet and each college and university will choose an additional goal of its own.

The key performance indicators have not yet been decided, but they could include goals for retention rates, degree attainment, student success and quality of student learning, to give a few examples.

The model will be approved Higher Education Commission in December.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Record enrollment anticipated at Southeast; university signs contract with Candlewood Suites

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Despite admission deferrals Southeast Missouri State University is gearing up for another semester with record enrollment. 

The total will include approximately 1,900 incoming freshmen. Last year the university set a record for incoming freshmen with 1,928.

This year may end up with fewer freshmen due to the university’s decision to defer admissions after July 8.

Nevertheless director of admissions Dr. Debbie Below says the university is still expecting record enrollment.

"Total enrolment at the university should go up about two percent," Below says. "Last year we exceeded 11,100 students as a university for the first time. This year that will probably be around 11,300."

The record enrollment number are pushing on-campus housing to the brink. The university has capacity to house approximately 3,100 students.

Seven students will temporarily call rather unconventional surroundings home.

These seven will live in converted dorm lounges for the next few days. Residence Life Director Dr. Bruce Skinner says he is certain that conditions will improve rather quickly for those students.

"Many schools are uncomfortably full at move-in. "We will have about thirty students that don’t show between a week from Friday and Friday," Skinner says. "So this is really a short term problem. It’s an uncomfortable problem for both students and the university. But it’s not the case where fall break rolls around and there are still people living in lounges and people living with RA’s."

To help alleviate some of the stress the university signed a year-long contract with Candlewood Suites to create housing for some 48 students for the school year.

Tim Filla, KRCU
Photo: Vandiver Hall at Southeast Missouri State University.

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Mo. Legislature passes budget

JEFFERSON CITY, MO (KRCU) - The Missouri legislature passed next year's budget which cuts higher education spending, but not as much as originally proposed by the governor.

Missouri lawmakers passed the $23 billion budget which includes a 5.4 percent cut to Missouri's colleges and universities.

Republican St. Louis County Senator Jim Lembke spoke out against areas of the budget where he saw increases in spending.

"Except in a very few like higher education, the bill that we will be going to next where they took a pretty heft cut on top of a cut that they took last year," Lembke said.

Lembke says it’s the legislators responsibility to be the fiscal stewards for Missourians.

The budget now goes to the governor.

Andrew Weil, Missouri Digital News

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University initiates "Southeast in the Year 2020" Initiative

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Southeast Missouri State University has begun a “Southeast in the Year 2020” Initiative.

The goal of the initiative is to look at university education of the future.

An eight-member committee will evaluate trends in technology, curriculum, academics, academic programs, the role of faculty, student services, and student demographic changes.

The committee will attempt to identify new careers that will develop by 2020. They will also evaluate changing sources of funding, the global and local environment, technology, and the nature and culture of students in 2020.

The committee is chaired by Dr. Bill Eddleman, the chair of the Department of Biology.

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