Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 25, 2020

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The Board of Governors met last week.

The main discussion item was a presentation by Dr. David Attis, one of our EAB consultants, titled “The Changing Higher Education Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities for Missouri State University.” I participated in this presentation by providing MSU-specific data and examples, and our board and a variety of administrators, faculty and staff contributed to the discussion.

Dr. Attis focused on seven themes. First, he discussed state support. The reality nationwide is that state support has failed to keep up with the rising cost of college. This has left universities more dependent on tuition.

Last year’s equity appropriation helped our situation at Missouri State. However, we still receive substantially less appropriations per student than our peers in Missouri and throughout the nation. It is unreasonable to assume that state or federal funding will dramatically improve for any universities in the years ahead.

Competing for students

Second, Dr. Attis discussed demographics and enrollment. As you know, enrollment has already declined.

Missouri State has beaten that trend for many years, but the demographics have begun to catch up to us as well. In 2026, the national population of 18-year-olds will fall off sharply. It is more important than ever that we work on retention, recruitment, diversity and expanding opportunities for non-traditional students.

Third, Dr. Attis discussed student success. New practices have emerged in strategic financial aid, career development, degree progress and next generation advising. We are on the cutting edge, having implemented many of these practices, but more work remains to be done.

Fourth, Dr. Attis discussed changes to competition. Prospective students are more price conscious than ever, and free tuition programs are proliferating.

We will also have to navigate a new environment as the federal government recently required NACAC to change its ethics requirements, allowing “poaching” of students already enrolled or committed to a university.

Affordability and value

Fifth, Dr. Attis discussed affordability. Gen Z brings a different prospective student than we have encountered in the past. They want easy access to information. They compare prices when deciding on a college and have serious concerns about student loan debt.

Missouri State is ahead of the curve, beating national trends on default rates and amount of student loan debt.

Sixth, Dr. Attis discussed return on investment. The value of a college degree has never been higher — bachelor’s degree holders earn $1 million more than high school diploma holders during their lifetime. It is important that we find ways to communicate this value to our prospective and current students.

We can do this by enhancing experiential learning opportunities, boosting career counseling, and measuring and communicating outcomes.

Finally, Dr. Attis discussed adult and online education. Continued growth in the graduate degree market will be strategic rather than widespread. To thrive in this environment, we must anticipate future markets, develop competitive infrastructure and maximize the bottom-line impact.

We can buck the trend

In sum, the landscape ahead of all universities throughout the United States is complicated and difficult. Enrollment projections nationwide will be down for several years.

Competition continues to intensify. Retention efforts and demonstrating return on investment will become ever more important as we move into the future.

The good news is that our university is already working to implement changes and initiatives to manage this landscape. Missouri State has had success in the past at bucking nation and statewide trends. I am confident we can succeed in the future as well.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 18, 2020

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Earlier this month the Springfield campus Executive Budget Committee held its first meeting to discuss the fiscal year 2021 budget. This year’s chair is Dr. Richard Gebken, and each college has an elected faculty representative on the committee. Leaders of Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, the Student Government Association also sit on this committee.

The purpose of this meeting was to evaluate preliminary budget numbers and discuss strategies to increase revenue and reduce expenses to fill the budget shortfall. The Executive Budget Committee makes recommendations that the Board of Governors considers when finalizing and approving the university’s operating budget.

Reviewing the current budget

Before beginning to work on next year’s budget, the committee first reviewed this year’s budget.

This year’s budget includes:

  • A modest tuition increase that was substantially less than the increases at most other public universities in Missouri
  • $9 million in new revenue due to a substantial increase in state appropriations (this is net of the state’s standard 3% withholding and the West Plains campus’s share of the increase)
  • $1.4 million in additional interest income
  • $6.9 million in payroll and benefit increases
  • $2.4 million in expense reductions and re-allocations

Unfortunately, we also had to budget for $4.6 million in reduced revenue because of a decline in credit hour enrollment.

Planning for next year

As we begin to work on next year’s budget, we will start with a carry-forward of $3.2 million in revenue. We intentionally left this carry-forward in this year’s budget because enrollment projections indicate another enrollment decline in fall 2020.

Next year’s budget assumptions include:

  • More than $300,000 in faculty promotions
  • Funding for enrollment strategies that were rolled out this year, such as the application fee waiver, the Academic Advising and Transfer Center, the Center for Academic Success and Transition, and scholarship program changes
  • Increases in the cost of employment benefits, such as a $900,000 increase in the university’s pension premiums, $1 million in increased health care costs and more than $200,000 in increased usage of the credit course fee waiver program.
  • A $1.3 million reduction in the support the university’s auxiliary system can contribute to the operating budget

Unfortunately, our enrollment model continues to project another enrollment decline in fall 2020.  This will impact the budget with:

  • Another $5.2 million decrease in tuition revenue
  • A $700,000 decrease in anticipated auxiliary student fee and parking revenue

If Missouri State increases undergraduate in-state tuition by the maximum amount allowed by the law, we will still have an anticipated budget shortfall of nearly $7 million that must be filled for the upcoming fiscal year.

How we move foward

We are developing several strategies to address this budget shortfall.

First, we are implementing cost reductions of $2.9 million across campus. I have asked all cost centers to begin the thoughtful process of identifying where these reductions can be taken.

Second, we are working to improve our enrollment situation for the fall semester. Due to state and national demographic shifts, we will not have increased (or even flat) enrollment in fall 2020. However, we are working on strategies to reduce the amount of our enrollment decline. Some indicators show that these strategies are making an impact, but we will not know for sure until the fall semester begins.

Third, we are advocating for an increase in operating appropriations from the state. Last week Chairman of the Board of Governors Craig Frazier and I traveled to Jefferson City and met with legislators to discuss the importance of year-over-year operating appropriation increases for Missouri State. You can find additional information about these meetings and the other work we are doing in Jefferson City in the most recent MSU Legislative Network update.

Board will discuss this week

We will present this same information to the Board of Governors later this week during the Finance and Facilities Committee meeting. Discussion at that meeting will focus on tuition and fees for the 2020-21 academic year.

Due to last year’s appropriations increase, we were able to hold the tuition increase for in-state undergraduate students to 2.87%. Our tuition increase was significantly lower than the increases at other public universities throughout Missouri. This allows us flexibility to increase tuition in the coming year while still being competitive with our affordability.

If you have input on any issues relevant to the university’s budget, please feel free to reach out to the members of the Executive Budget Committee. You can find the roster in the university’s Committees Handbook.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 11, 2020

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Two weeks ago I attended a Presidential Experience Lab with about 70 other university presidents in Silicon Valley. The topic was “Higher Education in the New World Economy.”

It was good to get away from campus to think about the future and brainstorm with other leaders in higher education and industry. We heard from Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn; Allen Blue, one of LinkedIn’s founders; other corporate leaders; and professionals with EAB, a firm we have partnered with this year to help accelerate our progress at Missouri State, who presented important data for us to consider.

Compassionate leadership

Weiner talked about the importance of compassionate leadership. He defined compassion as empathy plus action. He emphasized the importance of leading this way in difficult times and reminded us we can always control how we treat others.

I frequently talk about creating a culture of kindness and the importance of empathy, so his thoughts resonated with me. These are good reminders as we enter into another tough budget year. I know I can do better in this area.

Education and the economy

The major focus of the gathering was to consider the future of higher education. One major theme was that both a great education and economic opportunity are equally important. A good education alone is insufficient if our students do not have meaningful career opportunities upon graduation. It is equally true that a good economy is insufficient if there are not well-educated graduates who can participate in that economy.

You might be surprised to learn that private-sector leaders in Silicon Valley were not advocating we teach only technical skills to our students. They know those skills will be obsolete in a matter of years. They believe in the importance of a liberal arts education.

All agreed on the value of “soft skills” like critical thinking, communication, team work and creativity alongside subject matter content. Unfortunately, more than 60% of graduates believe that college did not adequately prepare them for their first professional job and an even greater numbers of employers concur.

I left with these questions:

  1. How can we do a better job of teaching “soft skills” to our students?
  2. How can we supplement the solid traditional education we provide with practical business, creative and technology-based courses to better prepare our students for the work world?
  3. How can our career centers better prepare our students for future jobs?
  4. Do we have enough experiential learning in our curriculum?

Engaging on LinkedIn

Finally, I learned more about LinkedIn and its strategic vision. That knowledge has encouraged me to update my profile and become more engaged with the app in the future.

I believe our students should do the same, particularly as they build their resumes and begin their careers. We can better help them learn to talk about their experiences, develop new and important skills, and begin successful careers.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 4, 2020

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Last week we held a Strategic Enrollment Management plan Town Hall meeting. More than 200 participants discussed the status of our SEM planning process and provided feedback that will be incorporated into the final stages of the SEM plan development.

Looking to fall 2020

The meeting started with an update on this year’s enrollment efforts. This fall we saw an enrollment decline. Early indicators predict another decline in fall 2020 that would reduce the university’s revenue by more than $5 million.

We have implemented several initiatives to address this trend:

  • We waived the undergraduate application fee
  • We began participating in the Common App
  • We launched a new communication plan for prospective students
  • We increased our social media, digital recruitment and website retargeting efforts
  • We established the Academic Advisement and Transfer Center on campus
  • We started a texting pilot program for current students and expanded the college proactive advising program

Indicators suggest that these efforts may have had an impact already for fall 2020. We experienced a 12.9% increase in fall showcase participation. We have also seen a 27% increase in applications, a 17% increase in admissions, an 11.6% increase in FAFSA filings, and a 35.2% increase in scholarships. However, our indicators are mixed —we are down 34.7% in housing applications.

SEM goals

Our enrollment efforts must extend beyond this year. To coordinate these efforts, we are developing a university-wide SEM plan. The plan is being developed by a series of councils and subcommittees composed of more than 100 faculty, staff, students and other university stakeholders.

The following SEM goals have been established through the collaborative work of the SEM councils and subcommittees.

  • By 2026, increase overall headcount enrollment by 5% and increase FTE enrollment by 3%.
  • By 2026, increase the number of African American, Hispanic/Latino/Latinx, first-generation and Pell-eligible students enrolled by 3%, improve the persistence rate of underrepresented students by 5%.
  • By 2026, increase equity, and improve institutional support, experience and overall climate for historically underrepresented, underserved and under-resourced students, faculty and staff.
  • By 2026, increase the number of credentials (e.g., degrees and certificates) awarded to 5,800 per year.
  • By 2026, decrease the average loan debt of undergraduate students by 5% after inflation.
  • Raise the profile of the university’s academic quality through the pursuit of new and emerging academic programs and delivery modes, enrichment of existing curriculum and research, and equipping of students for successful career outcomes that meet workforce demands.

These goals were presented to the university’s senior leadership team and the Board of Governors in December.

Developing SEM strategies

The SEM councils and subcommittees are now working to develop the strategies that will put the university on a path to achieve these goals. You can find information about the strategies being evaluated and other enrollment materials on the university’s SEM webpage.

Reestablishing a positive enrollment trend will require everyone at Missouri State to work together and make recruitment and retention a top priority. We welcome feedback and ideas from all members of the university community. If you have enrollment ideas you’d like to share, please email them to me at president@missouristate.edu.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for Jan. 28, 2020

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Earlier this month Governor Mike Parson released his budget recommendations. Those recommendations:

  • Maintain our core operating appropriation, including the $10 million increase passed last year.
  • Include $1.8 million in one-time funding to establish the Missouri Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at JVIC.
  • Increase appropriations for state scholarship and grant programs used by many of our students (Access Missouri, A+, Fast Track and Bright Flight).

These recommendations include some of MSU’s legislative priorities for this year. We are grateful for Gov. Parson’s support.

We have already begun working with the legislature to advocate for our other priorities. Earlier this month I testified in support of our priorities to the House Subcommittee on Appropriations – Education. I have also been meeting with legislators throughout the past several weeks.

Our top priority continues to be an inflationary increase in the university’s core operating appropriation.

Provide feedback on SEM

We have made good progress toward finalizing a strategic enrollment management plan. The Board of Governors has approved SEM goals, and our SEM councils continue to meet and develop enrollment strategies.

As we move into the latter stages of our SEM planning process, we want to update the campus community and solicit feedback. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend a SEM Town Hall at 12:15-1:15 p.m. Jan. 29 in the PSU Theater. We look forward to seeing you there!

Wall of Fame nominations

Missouri State University has a history of outstanding faculty and staff. We honor employees who have excelled at Missouri State and significantly contributed to the success and positive experiences of students by recognizing them on the Wall of Fame located outside the Plaster Student Union Ballroom.

Nominations are being accepted for next year’s Wall of Fame honorees through March 13. I encourage you to nominate former Missouri State University employees who you believe should be recognized with this honor. You can complete the nomination form online.

You can find more information about the Wall of Fame (including selection criteria and names of prior honorees) on the Alumni Association webpage.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!