In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I review highlights from the May Board of Governors meeting, as well as the spring commencements.

Board of Governors meeting review

The budget for Fiscal Year 2014, the marketing discussion and a presentation from the Presidential Task Force on Online Education and Alternative Credit highlighted the Board of Governors meetings on Thursday, May 16.

Increased compensation

I am pleased to report that the Board of Governors unanimously and enthusiastically accepted our proposal for increasing compensation in the Fiscal Year 2014 budget recommendation. We will present the complete Fiscal Year 2014 budget to the Board for approval at the June 21 meeting in Kansas City. The budget goes into effect July 1.

You will remember that the compensation package calls for a 2 percent across-the-board raise for all full-time faculty and staff employed before April 1 for Springfield and West Plains operating funds; a 2 percent increase for graduate assistants; an adjustment to the pay ranges for staff; a required contribution increase from the University to MOSERS (state retirement system); and faculty promotions. Specific details may be found in the Clif’s Notes from May 15.

Full Professor Incentive Program (Professor Plus)

The Board also expressed its support for the Full Professor Incentive Program, which would provide additional pay for those at the rank of professor who have continued to perform at a high level by conducting great research, being great teachers and mentoring students. While this is a selective program, the goal is to provide the monetary increase to up to 100 professors who would be phased in over time. To be eligible to apply, a faculty member would have to be in the full professor rank for at least five years at Missouri State.

Therefore, this summer and fall, Provost Frank Einhellig will work with a committee to develop the criteria and application process. Applications will be accepted and reviewed in the spring of 2014. The first group of recipients would be funded for Fiscal Year 2015, beginning July 1, 2014. Our intent is to award at least 20 in the first year, with more possible depending on the budget.

Online task force

At its Programs and Planning Committee meeting, the Board heard a report from the Presidential Task Force on Online Education and Alternative Credit. 

I urge you take some time to review the report and its recommendations. I think it is thoughtful and measured in its suggestions. In accordance with one recommendation, Frank and I will appoint a standing committee to monitor developments in online education and alternative credit so that Missouri State keeps pace with its competitors. More information on this topic will be forthcoming in the next two months.

Marketing discussion

The Board had a very productive 90-minute discussion on marketing Missouri State. I invite you to review the research presentation documents, if you haven’t already.

Three of the key findings shared by Amy Crosby, senior director with the research firm of Penn Schoen Berland (PSB), were:

1. Missouri State has a good reputation and gets high ratings from all audiences and, therefore, is operating from a position of strength.
2. Missouri State’s value (i.e., benefit for cost) is very important to our students and their families.
3. The two areas consistently identified for Missouri State to improve were in traditions and school spirit.

We must and will take a long-term view when it comes to improving our marketing. This presentation on the overall research was the first step. The next steps include the following:

• PSB has also conducted research on each of the academic colleges. That research will be presented to the deans and others in June. During those sessions, additional information will be collected to assist in developing the marketing plan proposals.
• Also this summer, PSB will complete its targeted research on underrepresented students, which will be presented to the campus.
• Then in the fall, the marketing plans will be presented by Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods (CJRW), PSB’s partner on this project. Our intent is to review those plans and implement any elements with existing staff.

Marketing will be a discussion topic again at the Board of Governors Retreat on Aug. 1. And, I will keep you posted on this important project as it develops.

Spring commencement 2013

On Friday, May 17, 2,404 students graduated in three Springfield campus ceremonies in JQH Arena, with attendance averaging around 8,000 for each. On Saturday, May 18, the West Plains campus awarded another 277 degrees in a packed Civic Center. Those ceremonies are special for the graduates as well as the families and friends.

As we think about enhancing our traditions, I hope more faculty and staff will seriously consider attending the commencement ceremonies. It is important to the graduates and it sends a very positive message to all in attendance. Plus, it is just one of those signature events that remind us of why we work in higher education.

The next two opportunities are coming up. The first is the summer commencement on Friday, Aug. 2. The second is the New Student Convocation Sunday, Aug. 18, where we will welcome new students and their families, and award the Honorary Doctorate Degree to Missouri State alumnus and actor John Goodman. I hope you will put both events on your calendar.

Conclusion

I commend you for another very good year at Missouri State. I hope you have a chance to get a break this summer. I know I will see many of you when summer school begins June 10. Please watch for additional issues of Clif’s Notes as we keep you posted on developments this summer. Thank you.

—Clif

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In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I provide an update on the budget recommendation for fiscal year 2014, including an across-the-board raise and the full professor incentive program, and announce an initiative we hope will allow employees to volunteer more in the community.

Budget recommendation for fiscal year 2014

Tomorrow (May 16) at the Board of Governors Finance and Facilities Committee meeting, we will have our first discussion of the operating budget for fiscal year 2014. We will seek input from the Board and then ask for final approval at the June Board meeting for the budget that begins July 1.

In summary, for the first time in five years, we will see an increase in state appropriations. We also have excess revenue because of our enrollment, which exceeded expectations, and our modest tuition and fee increase. These two factors will allow us to make a significant investment in increasing the compensation package for faculty and staff for fiscal year 2014. The key elements of my presentation to the Board follow.

Increases in Operating Revenue

$1,747,000	Expected increased revenue from increased enrollment and tuition/fee increases, net after scholarships and fee waiver increases
2,384,000	Increase in state appropriations ($2,457,827 less standard 3 percent holdback) — please note that the governor must still sign the budget into law
$4,131,000	Total

Increases in Operating Expenses

$800,000	Expected approximate increases in utilities, rent for Brick City and other expenses
3,517,000	Employee compensation approximate increases for Springfield and West Plains operating funds
(186,000)	Less net cost reductions
$4,131,000	Total

Compensation Recommendation

This is what I will recommend to the Board for increasing compensation:

$2,353,000	2 percent across-the-board raise (with fringe benefits) beginning July 1, 2013 for all full-time faculty and staff employed before April 1 for Springfield and West Plains operating funds — also includes 2 percent increase for graduate assistants
865,000	Required contribution increase from the University to MOSERS (state retirement system) net of anticipated cost saving from our new health care contract
299,000	Faculty promotions
$3,517,000	Total

As part of the compensation plan, pay ranges for staff will be adjusted by 1 percent effective July 1, 2013. This adjustment is consistent with our policy to annually adjust ranges pursuant to changes in the Employer Cost Index. Those employees paid below the bottom of the new ranges will receive an adjustment to bring them to the minimum of their range prior to the 2 percent salary increase being applied.

This means that 100 percent of the increase in state appropriations, plus a major portion of the increase from tuition and fees (more than 85% of new money), will be invested in our faculty, staff and graduate assistants. This also means that with the mid-year raise and this 2 percent raise on July 1, we will have increased salaries by 4 percent during this calendar year. Those are actions we can feel good about.

Full Professor Incentive Program (Professor Plus)

In addition, Provost Frank Einhellig and I will recommend to the Board implementation of the Full Professor Incentive Program, which would provide an additional pay for those at the rank of professor who have continued to perform at a high level by conducting great research, being great teachers and mentoring students. While this is a selective program, the goal is to provide the monetary increase to up to 100 professors who would be phased in over time. To be eligible to apply, a faculty member would have to be in the full professor rank for at least five years at Missouri State.

This summer and fall, Frank will work with a committee to develop the criteria and application process. Applications will be accepted and reviewed in the spring of 2014. The first group of recipients would be funded for fiscal year 2015, beginning July 1, 2014. Our intent is to award at least 20, with more possible depending on the budget.

We believe this program is a good one and addresses the rank where we lag behind the most when it comes to national comparisons.

Special funding for health programs

In addition to the core operating budget, the legislature included $1,325,000 in on-going funds to support health programs on both the Springfield and West Plains campuses.

Of the total, $500,000 has been identified to expand and improve the health programs on the West Plains campus. These include nursing, respiratory care, health management, medical coding, and other programs.

The $825,000 for the Springfield campus will support the new occupational therapy program. The first year or two of funding will be used for start-up costs, especially for much-needed health classrooms and labs. We plan to hire a director in the near future and then be ready to enroll the first OT class no later than the fall of 2015.

Extra personal days

Over the past year or so, several staff members have asked if there is a way to make it easier for them to volunteer in the community, for their children’s school, and for other worthwhile causes. In response, we will soon announce that we have increased the personal leave days from the current one per year to three per year.

You will recall that personal leave days may be used for any purpose, but they are counted as sick leave days and are deducted from the employee’s sick leave balance. In order to use the personal days, you must have sick leave remaining. As you know, each full-time staff member earns 12 sick leave days per year, one each month. Effective with this change, personal day usage may be taken in four-hour increments.

This will give staff members the ability to use these two additional days to increase their community service and help Springfield become an even better place to live and work. One of the best ways to volunteer is on Days of Caring sponsored by the United Way.

Conclusion

We are in finals week and the last days of the academic year. Over the next few weeks, I will distribute additional issues of Clif’s Notes to keep you updated as we move into a busy summer. Thank you for all you do for Missouri State. See you at the commencement ceremonies.

—Clif

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In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I provide an update on the legislative session, announce the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame, share information on the Higher Learning Commission and provide information about a new pricing structure for Lady Bear tickets.

Update from Jefferson City

There is about a month left in the 2013 session of the Missouri General Assembly. I wanted to give you an update on the status of the operating budget and other issues in Jefferson City.

Operating budget

As you recall, for fiscal year 2014, the Governor recommended $34 million in additional funding for higher education allocated based on success in achieving the five performance measures. For Missouri State, that amounted to an increase of about 4.3 percent or $3,335,974, for a total state appropriation of $81,885,437.

In the House version of the budget, the increase was reduced to $20 million and it was allocated “across-the-board” at slightly more than 2 percent for an increase of $1,795,498 for Missouri State and a total state appropriation of $80,344,961.

The Senate Appropriations Committee has adopted the Governor’s recommendation on the operating budget. That version should go to the Senate floor in the near future.

As is the case every year, there will be a conference committee to discuss the differences and come to a final recommendation for both the House and Senate to finally approve. If there is an increase in our appropriations, our commitment is to use most of the additional money to improve the compensation for our faculty and staff.

Additional funding

The Senate Appropriations Committee added in two additional funding pieces that affect Missouri State.

First, $1,325,000 in on-going funding was added to support the new Occupational Therapy program on the Springfield campus ($825,000), as well as expansion and improvement of various health programs on the West Plains campus ($500,000).

Second, $150,000 was added for Missouri State-West Plains and Three Rivers Community College to provide an “education training center” in Willow Springs. The two institutions are working with the City of Willow Springs and the Missouri Department of Higher Education to develop a plan to provide both general education (West Plains) and technical programs (Three Rivers) to that community.

Again, both of these items would go to the conference committee since they are only in the Senate version of the budget.

Bonding for capital projects

It has been more than a dozen years since there was a statewide capital funding appropriation for higher education. Because of that, along with the current low interest rates and other factors, there has been significant discussion about bonding capital projects. That discussion continues, but there is not agreement on the total amount, the process or if it should focus on new construction or maintenance and repair. We continue to be involved in these discussions, and we are hopeful there will be some funding support for capital projects.

Other legislation

We are tracking a number of other pieces of legislation, from the higher education funding formula, to allowing weapons on campus, to additional benefits for military veterans and more. We also are monitoring tax credit reform, income tax reductions and the discussion on Medicaid expansion since all of these could impact the general revenue of the State and ultimately impact higher education.

The 2013 session of the Missouri General Assembly concludes on Friday, May 17. I will continue to update you on significant developments.

Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame

The ninth annual Public Affairs Conference was another great success. I congratulate Dr. Gilbert Brown, conference chair, and his team for highlighting Inclusive Excellence as the theme. I hope you were able to attend several of the events.

At the Conference, we announced that Missouri State has created the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame. This will be a signature event and yet another step in both the maturing of the statewide mission and expanding the understanding of the mission statewide. I invite you to learn more about the award and consider nominating a deserving individual. The deadline for nominations is Aug. 31, with the inaugural class to be inducted in the spring of 2014.

Finally, the Distinction in Public Affairs Student Presentations this year were outstanding. We have featured some of those below in the Telling our Story section.

Higher Learning Commission update

We continue to prepare for the Higher Learning Commission accreditation, with our report due in the spring of 2015 and the site team visit to campus in the fall of 2015.

Toward that end, several of us attended the annual meeting of the Higher Learning Commission in Chicago April 5-9. Those attending from Missouri State University included Frank Einhellig, Steve Foucart, Joye Norris, Don Simpson, Lynn Cline, Keri Franklin, Tammy Jahnke and me. It was a great opportunity for everyone to learn more about the newly adopted criteria for accreditation along with the new open pathway.

Frank and Tammy made the presentation “Program Review: Policy, Review Cycle and Assessment of the Process – Lessons Learned,” which covered the Missouri State academic program review process from 2000 to the present. Review the information in the presentation.

Mission statement

The first criteria for accreditation is: “The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.” Our mission is clearly documented in all publications including catalogs and on our website, and I continue to be impressed by the number of students, faculty and staff who can recite most or all of it. It is:

Missouri State University is a public, comprehensive metropolitan system with a statewide mission in public affairs, whose purpose is to develop educated persons. The University’s identity is distinguished by its public affairs mission, which entails a campus-wide commitment to foster expertise and responsibility in ethical leadership, cultural competence and community engagement.

Sometimes, I shorten the mission statement to this:

Our goal is to develop educated persons. Our mission is public affairs.

Regardless of which you use, it is important for lots of reasons, including the HLC accreditation, that the mission is widely known and understood. It also will be important that we show that it guides our operations.

Tasks completed

Missouri State’s Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Steering Committee has accomplished three specific tasks during this past academic year. It has started to identify evidence that shows that Missouri State meets the HLC assumed practices, the HLC criteria and the concerns noted in the 2006 team report from HLC. Drafts of each of these works in progress are posted on the committee’s website.

As the Steering Committee has been working on this, the Assessment Council and assessment director have been working on Missouri State University’s Quality Improvement Project (QIP). This project will be collecting evidence of student learning as it relates to our public affairs mission. The results of this evaluation along with an assessment of the process will be available early in fall of 2013. Starting in fall of 2013, the Steering Committee will be completing the list of evidence.

New leader for Lady Bears

On April 10, we announced that Kellie Harper would be the new Lady Bears basketball coach. Kellie comes with great credentials, both on and off the court as you can see from the news release. We expect great things from her and her team in the coming years. I hope you soon will have a chance to meet and welcome Kellie and her husband, Jon.

In conjunction, we are reinventing the ticket pricing for Lady Bears games. There will be plenty of publicity on this in the coming weeks, but I wanted you to know that we have drastically reduced the price of season tickets in the lower bowl of JQH Arena. The vast majority of the lower level season seats will be $120 without a seat assessment. With the half-price faculty and staff discount, that means you can see 18 home Lady Bears games next year for $60. If you want to sit in the end zone, your price will be $40 (half of $80).

I ask that you take a serious look at purchasing a season ticket. Athletics can be another rallying point for our campus as we have seen during the March Madness at all levels in both men’s and women’s tournaments. It is another piece of making Missouri State the kind of institution we want it to be. Given that, I would ask that you support the student-athletes who compete for the Lady Bears and all of our teams. They deserve our support. Thanks for your consideration.

Conclusion

The clock is ticking on this semester. We have about a month to go and lots to accomplish in those four weeks. As always, I hope all of us can finish strong so we feel good about our accomplishments for 2012-13. Thanks for all you do.

—Clif

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*You need Adobe Reader to view and print this document.

In conjunction with this plea, we are posting the Bookstore audit today. Finally, for reference, here is the link to the news release we issued on August 20 that contains the history of the case.

I want to take this opportunity to make four points.

Thanks to internal audit

First, let me again express my sincere thanks to our internal audit staff for identifying this issue and being diligent about getting to the bottom of it. They deserve the credit (and our thanks) for bringing this to light.  Without their good work and their cooperation with law enforcement, we would not be to this point in the case.

Thanks to law enforcement officials

Second, on behalf of the University, I want to thank the U.S. Attorney, the Secret Service, the IRS, the Springfield Police Department and all other law enforcement officials, as well as the courts, for their good and prompt action on this case.

Cooperating with law enforcement

Third, I want you to know that since Aug. 20, we have been cooperating fully with law enforcement officials and the prosecutors. As part of our cooperation, law enforcement officials asked us to refrain from talking with media and to not provide additional information, all of which they said could compromise the investigation. It was our cooperation that helped bring this case to a conclusion in such a timely manner. By cooperating, that meant the following:

• We were not able to fully disclose the total amount of the missing funds.  The original $400,000 was ultimately determined to be more than $1.1 million.
• We were not able to complete and share our internal audit because it would have included all of the details and the numbers.  As indicated, we are posting that audit on our website today.
• And, finally, as you recall, the University has an employee theft insurance policy that covers these kinds of acts. While we filed our insurance claim, we asked the insurance company not to fully pursue its confirmation process until after the legal process had been completed. We appreciate the company complying with that request. We are still hopeful we will be able to recover the vast majority of the funds after restitution.

On one hand, I regret not being able to fully disclose all of the details earlier; however, in this instance, advancing the criminal investigation was the primary goal, and we were able to accomplish that.

Corrective actions

Fourth and finally, as you will see in the audit, we have taken a number of corrective actions to avoid this from happening again. These actions range from ensuring better segregation of duties, to eliminating exceptions to policies, to better recording of transactions, and more. We believe we have established a comprehensive set of actions to close any loopholes for the future. So you know, internal audit is completing a full department audit of the Bookstore operations.

This has been a very disappointing chapter in our history, but I believe the University has responded appropriately and in a timely manner to bring the issue to light and to assist in finding a resolution.

In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I review information from the Board of Governors retreat, announce the recipient of the University Leadership Chair and announce the two extra given leave days.

Tuition and fees approved for 2013-14

The one action item on the Board of Governors Retreat agenda March 7-8 was approval of the tuition and fees for 2013-14. For complete details, please see the news release.

As you will see, the increase for next year is very modest and at the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase of 1.7 percent as required by law for resident undergraduates unless a waiver is granted. The tuition rate next year for resident undergraduates will increase from the current $200.48 per credit hour to $204.00 per credit hour.

Missouri State University continues to be a tremendous value for students. In addition to being below the national average, we are well below the University of Missouri, which has approved a rate of $274 per credit hour for resident undergraduates next year. For 30 credit hours, that means an annual savings of more than $2,000 just on the tuition.

Our goal continues to be to provide access to all qualified students who want to attend Missouri State, while maintaining the quality of our programs.

Board gets updates at mid-year retreat

The Board of Governors met March 7-8 in St. Louis for its mid-year retreat. The Board discussed a number of issues but focused on two major topics: an update on the 10 goals for 2012-13 and the need to improve facilities on campus.

Action items for 2012-13

The Board discussed the 10 action items for this year. As you recall, those included:

• Enrollment
• Funding
• Public affairs
• Diversity
• Student access and learning
• Graduate programs
• Profile
• Facilities
• IDEA Commons/JVIC
• Marketing.

For more about these, I refer you to the State of the University address last fall.

Facilities

We also presented our facilities needs to the Board for discussion. The focus was on the need to expand and improve classroom and laboratory space, especially for those programs that have expanded significantly in recent years. We are hopeful that the bonding proposal now being discussed in the Missouri General Assembly will help us address these needs, but we probably need to find a way to do even more.

The Board also discussed the following:

• Our desire to construct a Welcome Center at the entrance of campus
• The need to add apartment-style housing for our students
• The necessity to improve some athletic facilities primarily to address safety and Title IX issues and the related need to ensure sufficient space for intramurals and student recreation

The Board concurred with our overall approach and asked us to continue to look at these priorities and to begin exploring funding options. All of this will wait until the final decision has been made on the statewide bonding initiative.

Endowed Leadership Chair

At the retreat, the Board also voted to award the Missouri State University Leadership Chair. Based on my recommendation, the Chair was awarded to Dr. Jim Baker, vice president for research and economic development and international programs. The designation is for two years and will provide $2,500 per year in supplemental pay.

As you may recall, the University Leadership Chair was established in 2008 by the Board of Governors under the leadership of Mary Sheid. The ultimate goal is to raise $1 million for the fund. The Board is able to award the chair to a member of the University’s central administration who demonstrates superb leadership. The only other recipient was Dr. Michael T. Nietzel, who held the designation from 2008-10. At that time, the fund did not generate any stipend.

Jim is very deserving of this award. In his 20 years at Missouri State, he has been instrumental in helping develop and expand several signature programs, including the Jordan Valley Innovation Center and IDEA Commons, and Missouri State’s international programs. He is also well-known statewide for being the long-time co-host of OzarksWatch Video Magazine.

Jim loves this University and its students. While we have many great members of the administrative team, I can think of no one more deserving than Jim of this recognition.

Exercise your right to vote April 2

There is an election April 2 with many important ballot issues in Greene County as well as surrounding counties.

In Greene County, the April ballot includes a wide variety of candidates and/or issues in nine cities, nine school districts, one fire protection district and one public water supply district. One issue of particular interest on the Greene County ballot is the bonding for Springfield Public Schools (R-12).

For information about all issues on the ballot, please consult the county clerk website for the county where you live. I encourage you to learn more about all the ballot issues and then exercise your right to vote on April 2.

Extra leave days identified

As you know, the President has the ability to grant up to four extra leave days each year for staff. This year, I have approved two additional days:

• Friday, July 5 — With the Independence Day holiday July 4, this will provide a four-day weekend.
• Wednesday, Nov. 27 — With the Thanksgiving holiday, this will provide an extended break.

Conclusion

I hope you have a relaxing spring break. I look forward to having you all back on campus March 18 as we finish the final two months of the semester and year.

—Clif

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In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I will review information from the February Board of Governors meeting in West Plains and provide spring enrollment numbers.

Review of February Board of Governors Meeting

On Feb. 8, the Board of Governors met in West Plains. It was the first meeting for new members Carrie Carroll and Joe Carmichael, both of whom were named to the Board on Jan. 9 by Governor Jay Nixon and confirmed by the Missouri Senate on Feb. 7. The Board discussed a number of topics at the meeting.

Tuition and fee increase discussed

The Board had its initial discussion of tuition and fee increases for fiscal year 2014, which runs from July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014. The Board will take final action on all fees at its March retreat in St. Louis.

Our recommendation to the Board is that we remain within the Consumer Price Index (CPI) restriction for resident undergraduate students and not ask for a waiver of that restriction. CPI for this year is 1.7 percent, which is calculated on the combination of full-time tuition and student fees.

So, our recommendation is that we increase the resident undergraduate credit hour fee from the current $200.48 to $204.00. The non-resident undergraduate credit hour fee would go from $412.00 to $420.00; the resident graduate from $242.00 to $247.00; and the graduate non-resident from $484.00 to $494.00.

For fees, we are recommending adding a $3.00 per student per semester fee for Title IX Compliance. The approximately $100,000 per year this would generate will allow us to address significant facility issues for the University to be compliant with Title IX, including upgrading the track for our women’s track and field team to practice and host meets.

These increases are modest and maintain Missouri State’s relative position among public four-year institutions in Missouri. Missouri State will continue to be significantly below competitors such as the University of Missouri ($274 per credit hour for resident undergraduates in 2013-14) and Truman State (which charges a flat rate for 12-17 hours, but cost approximately $290 per credit hour for resident undergraduates in 2012-13), as well as below the national average.

I invite you to track the FY14 budget planning through the Financial Outlook website; it already includes the overarching goals, the budget assumptions and committee structures.

Code of Conduct

The University has a number of documents that address appropriate conduct, from the Declaration of Community Principles, to the Faculty Handbook and Employee Handbook, to state policies, to the Board of Governors By-Laws, and more. What we were missing, however, was a single Code of Conduct. The Board reviewed and approved the new Code of Conduct.

Discussion of academic programs at West Plains

For the February meeting, the major discussion topic was the academic programs offered in West Plains. We had two presentations lasting about 30 minutes total, followed by about 90 minutes of discussion.

In his presentation, West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett described the history of the West Plains campus, highlighted the 50th anniversary celebration scheduled for this spring and fall, and then discussed the current, planned and future academic offerings at the associate degree and certificate level. He indicated that the growth in associate degrees will likely be in the areas of agriculture and health care.

In his presentation, Provost Frank Einhellig provided a history of bachelor’s and master’s degree completion programs and talked about future plans. At the top of the list is our commitment to providing a secondary education mathematics degree program to West Plains-area residents. We will use a variety of modalities — seated, interactive television, online, blended — to provide this degree program, beginning with the first two courses in fall 2013.

Our commitment is for the Springfield and West Plains campuses to cooperate to provide increased educational opportunities in demonstrated areas of need for the citizens of the seven counties served by West Plains. To accomplish that, the academic leaders on both campuses have pledged to work even more closely together in the coming months and years.

Spring enrollment numbers are in

Good news. Spring enrollment is up on both the Springfield and West Plains campuses. Congratulations to all.

A total of 21,629 students are enrolled in the Missouri State University system, which is believed to be a new system record. On the Springfield campus, the 19,919 students represent a 204 student increase from last year and is a spring enrollment record. On the West Plains Campus, enrollment is up 2.4 percent from a year ago, with 1,768 students. For complete details, see the news release.

Given the financial situation, enrollment will continue to be important to the future of Missouri State. First, it leads to the national and state goals of increasing the number of college graduates. Second, it will continue to be a major source of revenue for the University, providing funding for our priorities.

I want to thank you for your good work on enrollment and retention in both the fall and spring, and I encourage you to keep these as priorities in the future.

Shared leave

I am pleased to report that we have had and approved the first request from the shared leave program. I again invite you to learn more and consider contributing to the shared leave program. When the need arises, I also encourage staff to request help from the Shared Leave Pool.

Conclusion

Thanks for your positive reaction to my Twitter account (@clifsmart). I hope you will consider following me and joining in the regular conversation. I value your input.

—Clif

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As the budget recommendations for fiscal year 2014, the overarching goals for all committees, and ultimately the Executive Budget Committee, are:

• Create a pool of resources to fund an across-the-board salary increase for faculty and staff while continuing to create reserves to fund new initiatives and to provide additional funds for repairs and maintenance of University buildings.
• Continue to develop plans that will incentivize and reward colleges and other units to increase enrollments and revenues, without compromising academic quality, with such plans to be implemented in the fiscal year 2014 budget.

Fiscal year 2014 budget assumptions

The base assumption is the tuition/fee increase allowed under SB389 of 1.7% will provide sufficient revenue to absorb increased costs for new Brick City leases, faculty promotions and a fringe rate increase for MOSERS offset by anticipated medical plan contract cost reductions.

State appropriations — The Governor has proposed a 4.3% increase ($3,335,974). The state appropriation increase may change as it works its way through the legislature.  We will know more during April and May as the House and Senate present their budgets.

Enrollment — currently same as FY2011.  This will be reevaluated as final FY2013 enrollment numbers and associated tuition revenue are known.

The Executive Budget Committee is evaluating a plan where 80% of any increase in state appropriations for FY2014 would be allocated to an employee raise and the remaining 20% for program expansion and additional funding for repairs and maintenance of university buildings.

In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I share information about our two new Board of Governors members, provide a progress report on our Higher Learning Commission accreditation, outline the action steps on sustainability, highlight the recently completed Our Promise campaign, announce Earle Doman’s retirement and give the charge for a task force on women’s athletics.

Two new Board members named

Two Missouri State alumni have been named as the new members of the Board of Governors. Carrie Carroll and Joe Carmichael were named to the Board on Jan. 9 by Governor Jay Nixon. They will come before the Missouri Senate for confirmation by early February.

Carrie Carroll

Carrie (Tergin) Carroll, a lifelong resident of Jefferson City, will represent the 3rd Congressional District. She earned her business management degree from Missouri State University. Ms. Carroll is the third generation managing her family’s business, Carrie’s Hallmark Shop in downtown Jefferson City. She was elected to the City Council of Jefferson City in 2008 and still serves on the council, and she is involved in a number of civic and professional organizations.

Joe Carmichael

Joe Carmichael, an attorney, is president and law firm manager for Carmichael & Neal, PC, in Springfield. He is from the 7th Congressional District. He received his bachelor’s degree from Missouri State with majors in French and business, and his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Arkansas. Of particular interest, he was an associate professor in the Missouri State School of Business from 1976-79.

In case you are interested, the Board of Governors members are listed on both the Missouri State University website and the governor’s website.

I believe both Ms. Carroll and Mr. Carmichael will be excellent Board members, and we look forward to working with them. One more time, I want to express my appreciation for the years of service by out-going Board members Elizabeth Bradbury and John Winston.

Work on HLC report continues

As you are aware, Missouri State University is accredited by the North Central Association (NCA) of the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) . We submit annual financial and enrollment reports to the HLC, and Missouri State participates in the “open pathway” for reaffirmation of accreditation. Our site visit will be in the 2015-16 academic year.

The open pathway requires the University to conduct a Quality Initiative Project (QIP). Our project — to evaluate student-learning outcomes related to public affairs — has been approved by a faculty review team trained by the HLC. The University’s Assessment Council is responsible for the QIP on our campus.

Faculty and staff may submit artifacts according to the guidelines posted for academic or co-curricular projects. If you have questions about the QIP, please contact our new assessment director, Dr. Keri Franklin.

The steering committee began meeting last semester and will be posting regular updates. I will provide regular updates, and we will provide updates to our Board of Governors as well.

Our Promise campaign exceeds goal

On Friday, Jan. 11, we celebrated the successful completion of the comprehensive fundraising campaign: Our Promise: The Campaign for Missouri State University. In the seven years of the campaign, more than 73,000 donors contributed a total of $167 million for scholarships, programs, capital projects and other University needs. You may remember the original goal was $125 million, which was revised to $150 million.

For more details about the campaign, as well as the two final gifts we announced, I invite you to read the news release.

This is a significant milestone, especially given the economic climate of the past several years. It speaks to the strong feelings our alumni and friends — and many of you — have for the University. The campaign will have a positive impact for many years to come as it benefits students, faculty and staff in a multitude of ways.

Sustainability action steps announced

As you recall, the Board of Governors had a significant discussion on sustainability at its December meeting. Coming out of that meeting, we have identified an action plan:

• Appoint a Sustainability Advisory Committee
  I have appointed a permanent Sustainability Advisory Committee, co-chaired by Vice President Ken McClure and Dean Tammy Jahnke, to oversee University sustainability initiatives. The committee includes students, faculty and staff, as well as members from the Springfield community. The committee’s initial meeting will be Feb. 5.
  • The committee’s first assignment is to develop recommendations for new sustainability initiatives and for improving current initiatives. I would expect the recommendations to address issues from recycling, to efficiency, to construction and renovation of facilities, and beyond.
  • Additionally, I have asked that the committee begin working on realistic strategies to increase our use of renewable energy, so the University becomes less dependent on coal over time, keeping in mind that recommendations for increasing the use of renewable energy must come with an estimated funding cost.
  • Other topics for the committee will include promoting sustainability initiatives across our state and region, as well as researching what our peer universities and sister universities in Missouri are doing in this area.

  I have asked for a report from the committee so that I can update the Board at its June meeting.

• Create a revolving loan fund
  I have directed Ken McClure and CFO Steve Foucart to work together to create a revolving loan fund to help pay for sustainability initiatives.
• Evaluate need for energy efficiency audit
  I have directed Ken McClure to evaluate the need for and scope of an energy efficiency audit.

I look forward to the results of these initiatives. I will keep the campus community informed by providing the same update in June that I provide to the Board.

Earle Doman announces retirement

After nearly 25 years at Missouri State University in two different stints, Dr. Earle Doman, vice president for student affairs, has announced his retirement effective May 1, 2013.

Earle’s first job after college was at Missouri State starting in 1976. He left in 1987 to work at Missouri Southern State University and then Arkansas Tech. He returned to Missouri State in 2000. Much has been accomplished under Earle’s leadership, and we owe him much. Missouri State is a better place because of his work. We will have several occasions to thank Earle prior to May 1.

I have appointed a search committee headed by Kyle Moats, director of athletics. We will begin a national search immediately, so we can have the new vice president in place before classes begin in fall 2013. Related, we will use this opportunity to review the student affairs unit to see if there are any organizational changes that would help us serve students better in the future.

Task force on women’s sports established

When it comes to intercollegiate athletics, Missouri State University operates under “Prong One” (proportionality) to comply with Title IX. Simply stated, that means that we commit to having the same proportion of male and female student-athletes as we have males and females in the undergraduate student body.

In recent years, the number of females in the student body has increased by several percentage points and the number of female student athletes has not kept pace. We have reached a point where we need to consider adding additional female sports for additional opportunities for women.

Therefore, I have created a task force to address this issue in two parts:

• I have asked the group to evaluate our current 10 women’s sports to confirm that it is the best set of sports for Missouri State in 2013.
• I have asked for recommendations about which, if any, women’s sports should be added to help move us back to proportionality to better comply with Prong One.

I will keep you informed about the work of and recommendations from this task force.

Conclusion

I hope you had a pleasant and restful holiday break. I welcome you back and look forward to working with you during another successful semester at Missouri State.

In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I review the major actions taken by the Board of Governors on Dec. 14 and also describe staffing changes intended to help us achieve our diversity goals.

Board of Governors meeting summary

At its December meeting, the Board of Governors took several actions. I want to summarize them here.

2 percent raise

The Board officially approved the 2 percent, mid-year, across-the-board raise. That raise will go into effect Jan. 1, 2013, for staff and Feb. 1, 2013, for faculty. The details of that raise, including who qualified for it, were included in the Oct. 31, 2012, edition of Clif’s Notes.

Financial audit

BKD presented the annual audit of the University. BKD reported that the audit was clean with no qualifications. BKD also commended the University for its strong financial position.

Citizen Scholars

The Board also honored the six Citizen Scholars for 2012-13. Once again, it is an outstanding group of students, who are featured below in the “Telling the story” section.

Sustainability discussion

In recent months, the Board has expressed a desire to revitalize and reinvent both its organizational structure and its regular meetings. Toward that end, the Board will now have five full meetings and two retreats per year. The Executive Committee will play a larger role, meeting monthly to handle more routine matters, which will be ratified at full Board meetings.

For the regular meetings, the Board will now focus a major portion of its time on one topic. This will allow the Board to have more thoughtful, meaningful discussion on a “big idea” that will affect the future of the University.

The topic for the first in-depth discussion last Friday was sustainability. Background materials were sent in advance, and the Board heard about 30 minutes of presentations by students, administrators, academicians and City Utilities. That was followed by about 45 minutes of discussion by the Board. The presentations were very well-done, and the discussion was very good and extremely helpful. With the guidance we received from the discussion, we will develop sustainability plans for the future and report back to the Board. I will communicate a summary of the sustainability discussion, as well as our plans for the future, in an upcoming issue of Clif’s Notes.

For the February meeting in West Plains, the discussion topic will be the expansion of academic programs on that campus. For the May meeting in Springfield, the topic will be marketing since the marketing research will be available and fresh at that time.

I believe these changes will allow the Board and the campuses to focus on some significant issues and make better use of Board members’ time and talent. This is becoming a nationwide trend, so we are in the forefront of it.

Diversity staffing

I wanted to make you aware of some staffing changes we have made in an effort to achieve our diversity goals:

• Charlotte Hardin will now assist the Professional Education Unit as we work to improve diversity in our education programs. Charlotte is a Springfield native and has worked in a number of roles in student affairs for the past 28 years. In her new role, she will work closely with Dr. Chris Craig, who heads the PEU.
• Juan Meraz will become the assistant vice president for diversity and inclusion. Juan had been serving as head of diversity outreach and recruitment.
• Francine Pratt will soon begin working part-time in the office of multicultural programs. She will work with various student development and community initiatives housed within the Multicultural Resource Center.

These changes are effective Jan. 1, 2013. We believe they will strengthen our diversity efforts and help us move toward our goals more quickly.

Thank you and happy holidays

I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to the break. My break to-do list includes seeing the movies “Lincoln” and “Les Miserables,” reading the latest John Grisham novel, traveling a little and spending time with family as I recharge for the spring semester. I hope you have a list that will recharge you, too.

2012 has been a good year for Missouri State University, thanks to your good work. Gail and I wish you a safe and joyous holiday season and a happy new year.

–Clif

Leader. Person of high moral character. Role model.

These are just a few of the descriptions faculty nominators used for this year’s Citizen Scholars. Recognized by the Board of Governors during the December meeting, these students were selected for their dedication to the public affairs mission of the university through course work, activities and service-learning opportunities.

2012 Citizen Scholars

• Lauren Bansbach, a senior biology major from St. Louis
• Amber Carr, a senior broadcast journalism major from West Plains
• Bethany Forrester, a senior civil engineering major from Springfield
• Anthony Hendrix, a junior biology major from Neosho
• Casteel Kirk, a senior agriculture education major from Urbana
• Scott Turk, a senior socio-political major from Springfield

More detailed information is available from the Citizen Scholar Award website.

Our Citizen Scholars are great examples of what it means to live the public affairs mission. They make you proud to be associated with Missouri State University.

I hope all faculty members will consider nominating their outstanding students for next year’s award.

In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I discuss filling the provost position, outline the performance measures for Missouri State, review our budget situation for fiscal year 2014 (next year), and provide several other updates.

Provost Frank Einhellig

At the December Board of Governors meeting, I will recommend that Dr. Frank Einhellig be named provost from Jan. 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014, when Frank plans to retire or return to the faculty.

Frank has served as interim provost since June 26, 2011, and proven to be a respected, effective leader. I know this recommendation has strong support from our administrative team, the academic leadership, faculty, and from others across campus.

I look forward to an additional 18 productive months with Frank as provost. We will conduct a national search for his replacement during the 2013-14 academic year.

Performance funding measures

We have now finalized the performance measures upon which Missouri State University will be evaluated by the Missouri Department of Higher Education. We anticipate that much of the new funds for higher education will be based on our success in achieving these goals. If we meet all five performance measures we would receive 100 percent of the funding identified. If we meet four of the five, we would receive 80 percent. And so on.

There are separate measures for both the Springfield and West Plains campuses. The measures will be evaluated on three-year rolling averages. There are two ways to achieve the measures: show improvement or achieve the “sustained excellence” level identified for each measure where available.

Below you will find the specific measures as well as the definitions for sustained excellence and the comparison groups for achieving that level. We are considering whether we should develop a website on the performance measures; we will update you on that in the near future.

Springfield campus

West Plains campus

I wanted you to have these measures so you know that they are being taken seriously and so you know the targets we need to hit in order to receive the maximum amount of performance funding. I hope this leads to conversations in departments, colleges and other units across campus.

We learned Friday that we have achieved all five of the Springfield measures and four of the West Plains measures for this year; thereby assuring additional funding for next year if performance funding is adopted by the legislature. It is expected that new money from performance funding will be relatively small given the failure of Proposition B (see next section).

Fiscal year 2014 budget outlook

We have a plan for this fiscal year (FY13) that includes a 2 percent mid-year raise and no increase in the health plan premiums for calendar year 2013. There are no changes to those commitments. I want to give you a preview of next year, fiscal year 2014.

As you know, Proposition B (increased taxes on tobacco products) failed on Nov. 6. That would have increased funding for education and its failure was disappointing. Increasing our enrollment will more than ever be the main source for new revenue.

Further, we have learned that the University’s contribution to the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) will increase significantly for fiscal year 2014. Missouri State’s contributions will increase by $2.3 million.

In addition, we will have additional increases in on-going expenses such as utilities, rent of facilities with the completion of Brick City, scholarships and other areas.

Given these facts, and absent significant reallocation, I am not optimistic that we will be able to fund another salary increase for fiscal year 2014 beginning on July 1, 2013. We will be having discussions with the Executive Budget Committee to get its input.

My hope is that some of these factors change and that our enrollment increases above projections. If that should occur, we would try again to look at a mid-year raise.

I just thought it was fair to let you know how things look at this moment.

Updates

Meals A Million

I want to thank the hundreds of you who volunteered for the Meals A Million volunteer effort the weekend of Nov. 9-11. In the three days and with several thousand volunteers, a grand total of 1,092,130 meals were prepared for hungry people in the Ozarks, on the East Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and around the world. Good job to all.

Academic Affairs funding

Frank will provide additional details through the Provost Communiqué, but I wanted to let you know that he is in the process of distributing the $500,000 in ongoing funds for this fiscal year (FY13). After consulting and confirming with the Academic Affairs Budget Committee, the distribution to the colleges is being based primarily on enrollment growth. This fulfills a commitment that Frank and I made a year or so ago: that new and reallocated funds would be distributed to academic units based on increased enrollment.

Shared leave

Remember that you may contribute to the Shared Leave Program again in January for the calendar year 2013. To date, 180 employees have contributed a total of 4,656 hours, the value of which amounts to $118,118.05.

To contribute hours, go to the Profile tab at My Missouri State and then choose Shared Leave Pool in the Employment Details box. I hope you will consider contributing.

Conclusion

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving break. You deserve it. Please know that I appreciate all you do for Missouri State University.

–Clif

Stephanie “Steph” Anderson has a skill that few people develop, and a talent that cannot be ignored.

Anderson, a senior Missouri State University print journalism major, stands on the sideline of Bear athletics games with her camera in hand, hoping to capture more than a picture.

She explained, “My goal is to evoke a feeling in the viewer that makes them relate to the image. That is the beauty of photojournalism; it brings light to issues or scenes that people may look past on a regular basis.

“Photojournalism allows me to learn about other people while being creative. I have always enjoyed being creative and challenging myself with each project. Sports especially has a unique challenge because it is so easy to shoot only what is familiar, like a pitcher throwing the ball.”

Anderson initially came to Missouri State to play field hockey, but left the team to focus on photojournalism. She recently finished an internship with the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Tribune-Review, and now works as a photographer for The Standard and Missouri State photographic services.

“I am freelancing for the (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) this winter break,” Anderson said. “I have made some great friends and mentors there who push me even harder than I push myself.”