Students applying to University of Missouri schools won’t have to submit an ACT or SAT score through the fall of 2025, based on a unanimous vote Thursday by the UM System Board of Curators.
Curators voted to extend the pandemic-era policy for MU, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Missouri University of Science and Technology.
University of Missouri-Kansas City shifted in 2020 to a permanent test-optional policy for all programs except dentistry, medicine, nursing and health studies and the honors program.
The decision to extend the policy keeps the universities in line with most competitors. Flagship universities in surrounding states, as well as all universities in Missouri, are test-optional. Of the institutions in the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten that have announced plans for fall 2024, only Purdue, the University of Florida, the University of Georgia and the University of Tennessee are requiring test scores, according to MU officials.
Despite the option, two-thirds of students who apply to MU, UMSL and Missouri S&T still takesubmit a test score when they apply.
Because the policy is only three years old, graduation data on a test-optional class doesn’t yet exist. Curator Michael Williams asked if the board should extend the policy for the years needed to collect the data. Curator Jeanne Sinquefield said the university needed to keep its options open to see what other universities would do.
“The market indicates that there are so many universities that don’t require (standardized tests) that going the test mandatory route right now would put us at a disadvantage,” said Mun Choi, president of the UM System and chancellor of MU.
Choi said that because students know that many universities are not requiring tests, many are opting out.
“If we were to move away from the test-optional situation now, there will be a decline in the number of students that apply,” Choi said. “How much, we’re not sure. But we know that it’s not going to go up, it’s going to decline.”
Curator Todd Graves said the test-optional approach can create the ability to game the system and that students who do submit test results may be put at a disadvantage.
“I want to go back to what our enrollment managers all said,” Choi said. “They’re encouraging students and guidance counselors to encourage their students to take the test because it’s another metric to determine the likelihood of their success.”
UMKC Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal said a majority of students who apply to the Kansas City campus are eligible for the Pell Grant and/or are first-generation students.
Increased research spending
Research expenditures at MU are up 75% since 2015, the same year a scathing report claimed MU was “dead last” among members of the prestigious Association of American Universities.
“We don’t take on research or make that a priority just to hit a ranking. We do it because we believe in it,” said Robin Wenneker, chair of the UM Board of Curators.
Choi said MU ranks eighth out of the 70 AAU schools in the percentage growth in research expenditures.
He did not disclose where MU stands in the overall AAU rankings because “AAU rankings are confidential and I want to honor the policies of the AAU,” he said.
Choi credited the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health facility with spurring much of MU’s upward growth. He said it is important to have the facilities and programs to draw top faculty.
“The university recognized that we had to make investments, and so the university did,” Choi said. “But I don’t believe we’re satisfied with where we are. We want to improve even more because of the impact of that research.”
Choi also cited the Center for Energy Innovation as the next step in the strategy that saw the buildingconstruction of NextGen. While NextGen focuses on health sciences, the energy center will focus on physical sciences.
Academic books written by faculty are on a downward trend, he said, and efforts to support faculty are under way.
MU applications update
Choi said that 4,590 high school students have made deposits to enroll at MU in the fall. At this time last year, 4,829 students had made deposits.
In his report to the board, Choi said the goal for the incoming class remains at 5,500 first-time college students.
Choi said that freshman enrollment is down 5% compared to this time last year due to a change in priority housing deadlines. Last year, a Feb. 1 priority deadline incentivized admitted students to enroll quickly to boost their chances at getting the room or roommates they wanted. That priority window does not exist this year. In addition, revisions to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid delayed its filing.
Choi said he believes students are waiting to see what scholarships they may qualify for. He said he expects that number will soon return to what is expected.
UMSL boasts the largest percentage increase in freshman applications out of the UM System schools, up 40% compared to last year.
Ryan Rapp, executive vice president of Finance and Operations for the UM System, said that enrollment growth across all four campuses is critical to meeting the system’s five-year financial plan. Rapp shared a “stable outlook” for the system in his presentation to the board.
“With enrollment being the most important part of the plan, if (enrollment goals) aren’t achieved for the four universities, we will need to adjust the operating expense base or not move forward with some of the plans,” Rapp said.
Special committee on athletics
The curators unanimously approved the creation of the Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Special Committee.
The special committee will be chaired by Curator Robert Blitz, and Curators Graves, Wenneker and Jeffrey Layman will serve as members.
According to meeting documents, the committee will be responsible for monitoring the progress of fiscal projects in the athletic department, obtaining and monitoring all information related to Memorial Stadium renovations and other facilities and to be regularly updated on hot-button issues in college athletics such as Name, Image and Likeness and Title IX.
