Presidential Updates

Clif’s Notes for April 27, 2021

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Throughout the year, our Long-Range Plan Steering Committee has collected information and regularly met to develop the university’s 2021-26 Long-Range Plan.

They have developed four themes for the plan:

  1. Evolving academic directions for future careers.
  2. Global engagement.
  3. Inclusive excellence driving university success.
  4. Community leadership and partnerships.

Each theme includes focus areas fleshed out with stories. Our goal is to develop a plan that all members of the university community can plug into as we develop annual action plans in the coming years.

Review the 2021-26 Long-Range Plan

Share your feedback at town hall

The steering committee, our leadership team and the Board of Governors need your feedback as we develop and finalize the 2021-26 Long-Range Plan.

Please attend the university-wide Virtual Town Hall meeting at 3 p.m. this Friday, April 30. We will present the themes, focus areas and stories to you and solicit your input.

You can find the Zoom link and other information about the meeting on the town hall webpage.

Updating the board on COVID impact

Last week the Board of Governors met.

I presented an update on COVID-19. Our numbers on campus and in the community continue to trend in the right direction.

We have administered more than 15,000 vaccinations on campus. The Springfield community’s vaccination rate now exceeds 25%, and the city has removed occupancy restrictions for most activities and events.

Approving tuition and fees

The board also approved our 2021-22 tuition and fees.

The Springfield campus in-state undergraduate tuition rate will be $257 per credit hour. As I previously discussed, this is a blended rate under which seated and online classes will have the same tuition.

We requested and received a waiver from Commissioner of Higher Education Zora Mulligan to restructure our tuition in this way without incurring a financial penalty under the state’s Higher Education Student Funding Act.

Other tuition and fee highlights include:

  • No changes to dual credit, college fees, program fees and parking fees.
  • Only two supplemental course fee changes (TCM 121 and 122).
  • A combined room and board increase of 2.15% with a rate freeze in Monroe and Sunvilla apartments.
  • A $2 per credit hour increase for in-state tuition on the West Plains campus.

Board approves purchases

The board awarded a contract to Slate by Technolutions for a comprehensive technology customer relationship management platform for enrollment management and student services.

The board also approved the purchase of an x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy system at the Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center.

Bonds refinanced

The board approved resolutions related to the refinancing of three sets of bonds.

The original financing occurred in:

  • 2014 for the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center and the Davis-Harrington Welcome Center.
  • 2015 for JQH Arena.
  • 2019 for Brick City buildings 1, 3, 4 and 5.

The university will save more than $4 million by refinancing these bonds.

Building expansions and renovations

The board awarded a $1.3 million contract to BP Builders, LLC to expand and relocate the Multicultural Resource Center. The project will also include renovations to the office of student engagement in the PSU.

The board also awarded a $300,000 contract to Kenmar Construction, Inc. to replace the gymnasium floor at Foster Rec Center.

Finally, the board approved a resolution to name the new outdoor facility currently under construction the John Goodman Amphitheatre. John Goodman is an accomplished alumnus of MSU and has made several large gifts to support the Reynolds College of Arts and Letters and the arts park project.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for April 24, 2018

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Last week the Board of Governors Executive Committee met.

The board approved a plan for parking lot maintenance in the coming year. You may recall that over the past several years we have tested the use of asphalt emulsion (AE) to seal our parking lots. We conducted these tests in response to concerns about the potential environmental impact of sealing with coal tar emulsion (CTE).

I am pleased to report that no CTE will be used to maintain parking lots under the plan adopted by the board. AE will be used to seal asphalt surfaces. This decision was made in light of advances in AE technology and the results from our tests.

Updating and improving campus

The board also approved a contract for the construction of Einstein Bros. Bagels in Glass Hall. This contract is being funded entirely by the College of Business. The work is scheduled to be completed by fall 2018.

The board approved the naming of the Magers Family Health and Wellness Center in recognition of the generosity of Bryan Magers and Randy Magers. The board also approved Jack McNevin as the recipient of an Honorary Associate of Applied Science Degree on the West Plains campus and approved procurement items including the campus-wide transit system, the OPT contract with PBS and the purchase of furniture for Woods House.

Tuition and fees approved

Finally, the board approved tuition and fees for the Springfield and West Plains campuses. Tuition for in-state undergraduate students will increase by $2 per credit hour on the Springfield campus and $1 per credit hour on the West Plains campus. This is an increase of less than one percent. Many thanks to our legislative leaders for making this possible by working to restore the funding cuts recommended by Governor Greitens.

The board also approved a new CNAS course fee and a modification of the existing COB course fee. Details about all tuition and fee increases can be found in the full fee schedule.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Missouri House of Representatives recommends budget restoration

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Missouri State University would like to acknowledge the work and support of legislators in the Missouri House of Representatives for recognizing the value and impact of higher education to the state.

Restoration of the budget cuts will ensure students continue to have the opportunity to obtain an affordable quality education. If Missouri State receives the appropriations included in the House budget, tuition for in-state undergraduate students will increase by only 1 percent for next academic year.

Special thanks to Rep. Todd Richardson (Speaker of the House), Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick (Chair of the House Budget Committee), and the Springfield business community for your continued support of higher education.

Clif’s Notes for Jan. 23, 2018

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Affordability for our students is an important part of what we do at Missouri State.

We have a great record of affordability. While tuition and fees have increased by 50 percent at universities throughout the country, our tuition has tracked with inflation. Our tuition and room and board expenses are also lower than most of the other four-year public universities in Missouri.

Our work on affordability has primarily involved holding down increases on tuition and fees. This becomes more challenging each year when the budget tightens, as it will again in the coming year. Fortunately, there is more to affordability than just the amount of tuition and fees.

Last week we announced five new initiatives to make Missouri State University more affordable.

  1. Hours reduction – We have decreased the total number of hours required to graduate from 125 to 120 hours. This change is effective immediately. Special thanks to Dr. Cindy McGregor, Dr. Thomas Dickie, and our other faculty and SGA leaders for recommending this change.
  1. Food service – We renegotiated our food service contract with Chartwells to reduce the allowable increase for student meal plan charges. Under the old contract, the allowable increase was 4 percent. Under the new contract, the allowable increase will be the greater of CPI or 2 percent.
  1. Housing freeze – We are freezing housing rates for three residence halls next year — Hammons, Hutchens and Scholars — which impacts about one third of our inventory.
  1. Textbooks – We have rolled out a “StreamlinED” textbook program that will significantly reduce costs for textbooks in larger sections of lower-division courses through open sourcing and other cost-reduction strategies.
  1. Scholarship expansion – We are increasing the value of our Missouri State Promise Scholarship by $500. We are also expanding the criteria for several scholarship programs to increase the number of students that will receive those scholarships.

These are win-win affordability initiatives that will provide students with substantial savings without putting significant pressure on the university’s budget.

The state budget and what it means for MSU

Yesterday the Governor released his budget recommendations for fiscal year 2019. These recommendations include a 10.12 percent cut to Missouri State University’s core operating appropriation. This is $8,668,086 less than the General Assembly’s core operating appropriation to Missouri State last year and $10,368,665 less than 2001. To put that in perspective, our enrollment has increased by over 6,000 students since 2001.

As you know, this is not the first budget cut we have experienced in recent months and years. In fact, we have experienced three other recent reductions in state funding over the past year:

  • FY17 withholding of approximately $6.7 million
  • FY18 budget reduction of $6.5 million
  • FY18 withholding of approximately $2.7 million

The impact is that per student funding for Missouri State is the lowest of any public university in the state, and it continues to decline as state funding shrinks and the number of students enrolling at Missouri State grows.

State funding and tuition and fees make up 98 percent of Missouri State’s operating budget. Accordingly, as we face another tough year with regard to state funding, we must evaluate tuition and fee increases.

While our strategy to develop a budget will involve administrative reductions and developing creative revenue sources, these efforts will not alone be sufficient to offset the state funding reductions we anticipate. We are confident that the affordability measures we announced last week will soften the impact of any tuition and fee increases for our students.

We will advocate with our elected leaders to reduce the level of cuts in the budget passed by the General Assembly. Meanwhile we will work through our budgeting process to determine what impact the Governor’s budget recommendations will have in fiscal year 2019. Our first Executive Budget Committee meeting is scheduled for the first week in February.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Clif’s Notes for Feb. 9, 2016

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Clif's Notes

 

 

 

 

The Board of Governors met on Friday. They discussed a number of important topics and took action on several items.

Committee meeting updates18851-4220-Clif's-Notes-Board-of-Governors

In the Finance and Facilities Committee meeting, the Board discussed the 2016-2017 Fees Schedule.

If the State of Missouri increases operating appropriations for higher education institutions by 6 percent, Missouri State University will not increase in-state undergraduate tuition for 2016-2017.

Otherwise, the University will raise in-state undergraduate tuition from $205 to $206, which is consistent with the 0.7 percent CPI inflation rate for 2015. The Board will approve the new fee schedule in March.

In the Programs and Planning Committee meeting, the Board discussed globalization and funding, two topics that will be covered in the next Long-Range Plan. The Board will work on the Long-Range Plan at its March retreat, and the new plan will be in place before the start of the fall 2016 semester.

The University wants you to be involved in developing the path it will take to achieve its mission from 2016-2021. Your feedback is welcome and encouraged.

A new non-discrimination policyIMG_8066-Clifs-Notes-Seal

During the regular meeting, the Board updated the University’s Non-Discrimination Policy Statement. The new statement conforms with state and federal law.

It is a tighter statement that lists the discrimination bases currently protected by the law without extending beyond what is legally required. The University has consistently prohibited the types of discrimination set forth in the new policy statement, and the University will continue to do so in the future.

Meeting technology needs going forward

Finally, the Board discussed Missouri State’s information technology infrastructure and needs.

The Board learned about the University’s current information technology resources and discussed how to move the University forward with regard to classroom technology, online education and student technology demands.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!