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.
Last fall students in Dr. Brian Calfano’s American Political Behavior and American Democracy and Citizenship classes created, produced and implemented their own research experiment involving social media advertisements.
The Click to Count experiment assessed whether people would click on social media ads for locally targeted, non-partisan election information and if an endorsement from the League of Women Volunteers influenced the decision to receive that information.
[youTubeVideo url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Meb6Qks4i14″ height=”351″ width=”570″]
Prior to the November elections, people who clicked on the Facebook ad were directed to a “Your Vote Counts” page and asked to click for Greene County election information. The visitors were then assigned to one of two conditions: the Click to Count logo with just a Web promo or both the Click to Count and League of Women Voters logos.
The students found that participants were five times more likely to click and watch the video when the League of Women Voters logo was included.