um system

Starting Monday, all four campuses in the University of Missouri System are closing. No one will physically work on campus unless directed otherwise, UM System President Mun Choi said in a systemwide email Thursday afternoon.

The shutdown will continue through April 12 and is meant to help contain the spread of COVID-19.

A new degree program focused on fitness programming and management was highlighted at the UM System Board of Curators meeting Thursday for its connection to the NextGen Precision Health Initiative.

Academic, Student Affairs, Research and Economic Development Committee Chair Darryl Chatman called the degree program “a state-of-the-art opportunity to address a national and state health issue.”

Missouri’s Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the University of Missouri System’s last appeal in a case that would grant the system’s graduate student workers employee status and allow them to unionize.

Over the past two years, MU has made substantial gains in financial stability, enrollment and reputation with state government, UM President Mun Choi said Thursday.

But at a UM System Board of Curators meeting where Choi made his presentation, it was clear that the statewide university system is still striving to improve in areas including online education, facilities, academic programs, teacher evaluation and graduation rates.

Undergraduate students at all University of Missouri System schools will face a 5 percent increase in tuition for the next academic year.

The UM System Board of Curators on Wednesday approved the increase, which ranges between $14.20 and $17.30 per credit hour. Only nonresident students at Missouri Science and Technology will not pay higher tuition.

Average resident tuition and fees in the system was $7,980 a semester in fall 2018.

The University of Missouri is planning to raise the cost of food and housing at three campuses beginning next school year.

University system officials approved the rate hikes for its Kansas City, St. Louis and Rolla campuses on Monday, the Kansas City Star reported.

The Columbia campus will be the only one with declining costs since officials approved a plan to lower room and board rates by 1.8 percent in November to help manage a dip in enrollment over the last four years.

The University of Missouri System Board of Curators unanimously approved a resolution to a commitment of excellence in research at its meeting this week.

This allows UM System President Mun Choi and MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright to take all appropriate and reasonable action to strengthen MU as a research University.

This begins with the launching of the Office of Research Advancement.

Chancellor Cartwright says MU has to positively change what it is doing in research.

  The contract for UM System President Mun Choi has been extended by two years, to 2024.

The UM System Board of Curators approved the extension at a meeting Friday in Springfield.

The University of Missouri Board of Curators approved a system-wide tuition increase of 2.1 percent for the coming academic year at its meeting today.

However, under an agreement reached with lawmakers, the campuses will only charge 1 percent more to in-state undergraduate students in exchange for protecting the university’s state funding.

Legislators passed a budget with core funding remaining the same as last year while allowing for additional funding for projects such as the Springfield medical campus and the joint pharmacy program.

The University of Missouri System has a state economic impact of about $5.4 billion a year, according to a recent study.

The economic impact study was done by consulting firm Tripp Umbach. System administrators and Tripp officials presented the results to lawmakers on Tuesday, the Columbia Missourian reported.

Presidents from multiple universities testified Wednesday morning on behalf of a bill that would change how universities could charge tuition. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, allows universities with an above average tuition rate in the state of Missouri, to raise tuition up to ten percent past the rate of inflation

It modifies the current law which currently caps the tuition rate, in most cases, at the rate of inflation. The bill also removes the appeal process universities must follow if they want to raise tuition past the cap. Now, with a cap of 10 percent past the inflation rate, universities no longer have to appeal to the state board of higher education, but cannot go past the cap. According to Rowden, the intended purpose of this bill is to provide an option for universities when they are facing budget cuts. 

The University of Missouri System says it is no longer looking for a staff lobbyist to replace employees who were laid off three months ago.

President Mun Choi said in a news release Tuesday that rather than hiring a lobbyist, he will work with campus chancellors and contract lobbyists to promote the university system's legislative priorities.

The release did not explain why the search was canceled.

It appears the bleeding hasn't stopped.

Just as the UM System Board of Curators passed its budget for fiscal 2018, tax revenue shortfalls could set the stage for more cuts in higher education funding across Missouri.

Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, said on Wednesday that state revenue growth was below 2 percent instead of the projected 3 percent for fiscal year 2017. That means Missouri is facing a $150 million shortfall heading into fiscal year 2018, which begins Saturday.

UM System President Mun Choi announced today that the UM System is focused on saving students money on course materials.

According to Choi, the University will develop a system-wide strategy to encourage use of quality open educational resources – which are free to students. The university will also focus on Auto Access, a program that makes books available online at a lower cost than traditional textbooks.

"Our goal is to move into the future by introducing more open source material so our students can have an outstanding, affordable education," Choi said.

Tuition at the University of Missouri is going up this fall.

In its monthly meeting today, the UM System Board of Curators voted to raise tuition and fees on all four system campuses. These changes will take effect at the beginning of the 2018 fiscal year, which starts July 1.

Undergraduate tuition on all four campuses will be going up by about 2 percent. Nonresident graduate students at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla will feel the greatest increase. Their tuition will go up 6 percent.

The University of Missouri's interim chancellor says he'll be leaving for new work as president at the New York Institute of Technology after May 3.  

About $22 million would be restored to higher education budgets throughout Missouri in the proposed 2018 state budget, according to a bill discussed by a House committee on Wednesday.

However, unlike the funds for other schools, the UM System's portion would only apply to certain cooperative programs. This means little relief for a large portion of the university system, which is poised to lose $40 million from its core budget as recommended by Gov. Eric Greitens.

The first Asian-American and 24th president of the University of Missouri System began work on Wednesday.

Mun Choi’s appointment is a departure from previous appointments of presidents with primarily business backgrounds.

Former University of Missouri Curator David Wasinger says Choi’s academic knowledge, amongst other requirements, is one of many vital presidential skills.

“Certainly academia is a very important quality for a university president to the extent he has experienced or knowledge of academia, I think it adds to his talent level,” he said.

COLUMBIA -- The UM System Board of Curators discussed Title IX policies in a meeting on Thursday.

UM System’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion gave the curators an overview of revisions of Equity Resolution Processes, that resolve complaints of harassment, sexual misconduct and other forms of discrimination. The office expanded its definitions of consent and incapacitation.

A man who was the longtime chancellor of the University of Missouri campus is Kansas City before serving as the four-campus university system's president has died. 

The UM System Diversity, Equity and Inclusion task force announced recommendations Wednesday to create a more diverse public university across all campuses. These recommendations were made based on an independent diversity, equity and inclusion audit.

David Mitchell, the chair of the task force and MU law professor, said the audit shows recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and students are important on all four campuses within the system.

The University of Missouri Board of Curators heard more about the process that will be used to select the next president of the UM System at its regular meeting Thursday. The session for the UM Presidential Search Committee was held at the Reynolds Alumni Center on the University of Missouri’s campus.

The committee discussed its plan to work towards finding a new UM System president. Although the process is still on-going, the Board of Curators and the search committee believe they are on track to finding the right prospect, but there’s still plenty to do.

Tensions between the University of Missouri and the state Legislature appear to be dying down.