Governor says Senate Bill 997 will be good for students, good for education institutions, and good for state’s economy
WARRENSBURG, Mo. – During a stop at the University of Central Missouri (UCM) today, Gov. Jay Nixon signed Senate Bill 997, a higher-education bill that will help more Missouri undergraduates complete their degrees. Among its provisions, the bill will enable more students to take dual-credit courses while they are in high school, make it easier to transfer college credits between public higher education institutions, and require the development of additional policies and pilot programs to encourage degree completion.
Standing with the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. David Pearce (R-Warrensburg) and UCM President Chuck Ambrose, Gov. Nixon said the new law strengthens Missouri’s leadership in this area.
“Over the last several years, Missouri has become a national leader to enable students to complete their higher education degrees, and this bill helps us continue to lead,” Gov. Nixon said. “These provisions are good for students, they’re good for our colleges and universities, and they’re good for our economy – because education is the best economic development tool there is.”
UCM was the site of Missouri’s first Innovation Campus, a collaboration of businesses and public education institutions launched by Gov. Nixon in 2012 as a way for Missouri students to earn affordable, fast-track degrees in high-demand fields. The Innovation Campus was recognized by President Obama during a visit to UCM in 2013 as an innovative way to control college costs.
“Recognizing the cost of a higher education and the time it takes to earn a degree have a significant impact on college affordability and student debt, the University of Central Missouri created the Learning to a Greater Degree contract for student access, completion and success three years ago with a central provision that rewards a ‘15 to Finish Scholarship’ for taking the right 15 hours per semester to complete a four-year degree on time,” President Ambrose said. “We are grateful to Gov. Nixon for signing Senate Bill 997, and legislators who made it possible, knowing the ‘15 to Finish Act’ will promote on-time degree completion, and ultimately help all students in Missouri to reduce their college debt burden.”
Under Senate Bill 997, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education will work with Missouri’s public colleges and universities to develop a 42-credit-hour block of foundational courses that can be transferred to any other public higher education institution in the state. This will help students in getting credit for classes they’ve already taken, the Governor said.
The bill also creates a scholarship fund to help low-income students take dual-credit courses while they are still in high school, giving them a head start on higher education and saving them money on college costs.
Senate Bill 997 requires the Coordinating Board and public colleges and universities to jointly develop additional policies and pilot programs that assist in degree completion, such as encouraging full-time enrollment and helping students map out a pathway to attaining their degrees. Those policies will include “15 to Finish,” which focuses on keeping students on track for a degree by giving them a strong start on taking the needed number of credit hours per semester in order to graduate in four years. UCM is already a leader in the area of degree completion, offering “15 to Finish” scholarships since 2013.
Senate Bill 997 is only one of the achievements made for public higher education and students through Gov. Nixon’s leadership:
n The Show-Me State has led the nation in holding down tuition increases for in-state students at Missouri’s public universities over the past seven years, and an agreement between Gov. Nixon and college and universities will keep tuition flat again for the next 2016-2017 school year. That affordability has resulted in a 36 percent increase in the number of Missouri students – some 50,000 – earning a higher education degree since Gov. Nixon took office;
n In 2015, the General Assembly following the Governor’s recommendation by passing the most significant state bonding investment in higher education in more than 20 years. The “Building Affordability” initiative is putting more than $200 million in building projects on college campuses throughout the state, including a $12.2 million renovation of the Wilson C. Morris Science Building on the UCM campus;
n Since 2009, funding for scholarship programs has increased, including for Fiscal Year 2017 an additional $4 million for Access Missouri, an additional $2.5 million for A+ Scholarships, and an additional $500,000 for Bright Flight. Missouri’s A+ programs also has expanded by more than 250 high schools to become available in more than 99 percent of public high schools in the state; and
n Targeted strategic initiatives such as Caring for Missourians, MoHeathWINS and MoManufacturingWINS have produced more graduates to help meet the ongoing need for skilled professionals in high-paying and fast-growing career fields.
