In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I review the Board of Governors Mid-Year Retreat, draw attention to the upcoming Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Open Forum, invite you to attend the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame dinner and induction, and provide updates on several other topics.

Board of Governors Mid-Year Retreat

The Board of Governors’ Mid-Year Retreat occurred in St. Louis on March 6-7. This event has become a tradition and is scheduled in conjunction with the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball tournament. The major purpose of the retreat is to provide an update on the University’s goals for the year, as well as progress on the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for both the Springfield and West Plains campuses.

This year, there are eight major goals for the University. The Board was very pleased with the progress we have made on the goals thus far, and they look forward to a final report at the August Board Retreat.

Also at the Retreat, the Board gave final approval to the fees for 2014-15. The new fee structure allows us to maintain our value – an outstanding education for a reasonable, affordable price.

The new fee plan calls for the in-state undergraduate tuition rate to remain the same as 2013-14. Tuition for graduate students and out-of-state students increase by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 1.5 percent or less. And, the differential fees will be implemented for some of the graduate health programs. For all of the details of the fees, see the 2014-15 Fee Schedule.  

HLC Town Hall meeting scheduled for April 4

Provost Frank Einhellig and I have scheduled a Town Hall meeting for Friday, April 4, to review the work of the HLC Steering Committee. The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. in the Plaster Student Union Theater. I hope you will consider attending.

The purpose of the Town Hall meeting is to seek broad feedback on our initial work from the campus community. Specifically, we want your feedback on three questions:

• Are there strengths or concerns missing from the list?
• Is there evidence (documents, reports) missing from the report that should be included?
• Are there concerns from the 2005 report that we have neglected?

Missouri State University received initial accreditation from the HLC in 1915 and has successfully earned reaffirmation of this accreditation in every cycle since that time.

Our report to the HLC (due in 2015) in preparation for a 2015-16 site visit must provide evidence of how we meet the criteria and core components. It must also include an assessment of what we do well (strengths) and what we hope to do better in the future (challenges/concerns). Those draft reports can be found at the Higher Learning Commission website.

The Town Hall meeting will begin with a brief summary of why this accreditation is important to Missouri State University and review of the criteria and core components. A brief review of the concerns from our 2005 report also will be reported, along with actions that we have taken to address the concerns. This will be followed by a listing of Missouri State University strengths and concerns based on the criteria and core components.

Again, I hope you will consider attending and participating in this discussion.

Collections audit released

As a follow-up to the Bookstore fraud case and subsequent conviction, the office of internal audit reviewed the collections processed by the provost and academic departments. The goal was to ensure we were handling transactions in the most appropriate manner.

That audit is complete and I invite you to review it for yourself. I think you will find that, for the most part, we were doing well with our collections. We have been able to make some improvements to ensure we process cash transactions as well as we should.

I want to thank new Director of Internal Audit Donna Christian and her staff for their good work, and for the faculty and staff who cooperated with the audit.

Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame

Last December, we announced the first three inductees into the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame: President Harry S. Truman, John C. “Jack” Danforth and Dr. Donald S. Suggs.

The induction dinner and ceremony will be from 5-8 p.m. Friday, April 11. I hope you will consider purchasing a ticket and attending the inaugural ceremony.

Construction Web Cam

If you are like me and want to keep track of the construction projects, you might enjoy this website. You can watch the progress of Plaster Sports Complex and the Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium (Soccer and Track).

Conclusion

I hope our faculty and students have a restful and enjoyable spring break. I look forward to having everyone back on campus next week as we begin our home stretch of the 2013-14 year.

Thank you for all you do for Missouri State University.