Initial approval given for changes to Missouri Southern State

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Southern State College would become Missouri State University-Joplin under legislation receiving initial Senate approval Wednesday.

Under the bill, the name change would take effect Aug. 28 and would allow the school to award graduate degrees in some areas. The bill would require the school to do away with associate degree programs unless approved by the state Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

No state money would be used for the name change.

The school of 6,000 students has been known since 1969 as Missouri Southern State College.

More than 260 students already attend advanced-degree classes at the school but receive their degrees in association with other universities. Under the bill, the Joplin school's name would appear on advanced diplomas, said Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin.

"This is a significant step," Nodler said after the Senate's voice vote. "I think we have a vehicle now that meets all the tests."

The legislation needs a final Senate vote before going to the House.

Nodler said the new name would attract Missouri students who might otherwise attend an out-of-state university.

"This bill reflects a level of education that goes on now," Nodler said. "It helps us compete with out-of-state institutions."

The bill even had the support of Sen. Ken Jacob, a Columbia Democrat whose district includes the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Jacob, who has fought other proposals to rename public universities, said he believed that Nodler's bill reflected a true change in Missouri Southern's mission.

"If this institution was committed to doing the things that a university does ... then they deserve that name and they ought to be called what they are," Jacob said.

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University bill is SB55 (Nodler).

On the Net:

Missouri Legislature: http://www.moga.state.mo.us