MU panel wants changes to tuition approach

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A panel set up by the University of Missouri has released a list of legislative recommendations that include redefining how students are charged for their education.

The University of Missouri System Review Commission was created after uproar at the campus last year that toppled top leadership. The panel was to audit the system and give recommendations to both the Legislature and the university board of curators, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Committee chairwoman Jeanne Sinquefield said the recommendations focused on four areas: governance and accountability; workforce readiness; diversity and Title IX; and research, extension and online education. The recommendations' theme highlighted greater transparency and accountability to the public.

One of the recommendations directed toward lawmakers was to overhaul a 2007 law prohibiting state schools from raising tuition more than the Consumer Price Index annually, which would affect all Missouri public universities. Instead, the panel recommended the schools shift the price of a student's tuition based on field of study, and the state funding cycle switch to every two years rather than ever year in order to better plan ahead.

The committee also called for a review and update of the university's Collected Rules and Regulations, which are the governing rules for the four schools in the University of Missouri System. The concern for the review grew after a former assistant professor attracted national attention by helping remove a student journalist from a protest scene in 2015. The protest was related to recent reports of racist incidents, and resulted in the resignations of the system president and campus chancellor.

Curators are expected to wrap up the review and schedule of proposed legislative changes by the end of 2017.

"If we as an institution can make some of these changes, and gain control of our own destiny, I think you'll find the University of Missouri System will reach unprecedented heights," curator David Steelman said.

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com