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Volume 104 • Number 50 • Friday, March 14, 2014 • PO Box 188 • 111 E. Jenkins • Maryville, MO
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Tuition depends on Nixon budget By STEVE HARTMAN Staff writer
Heeding a call from Gov. Jay Nixon to hold the line on higher education costs, the Northwest Missouri State University Board of Regents voted unanimously Thursday to freeze the cost of tuition for the 2014-’15 academic term. The action to keep in-state and out-ofstate tuition at current levels for undergraduate students is based on Northwest receiving at least a 5 percent increase in fiscal year 2015 state appropriated core funds. If the core funding amount drops below 5 percent, the Board of Regents approved a 1.5 percent tuition increase, an amount that matches the allowable fiscal year increase under state law.
‘Our tuition increases are the lowest in the nation over the past five years.’ — Northwest President John Jasinski Nixon has proposed an 8 percent increase, which includes a 5 percent bump in core funding and a 3 percent increase to core funding devoted to STEM initiatives. “Our tuition increases are the lowest in the nation over the past five years,” Northwest President John Jasinski said. “When you factor in that our tuition costs include both textbooks and laptops, we continue to offer a great value along with a quality education.” While the Board of Regents was unanimous in its support for holding the line on
tuition, the panel was not altogether optimistic that the core state appropriation proposed by Nixon will pass muster in the General Assembly. “I keep hearing the number 2 percent from the House,” Regent Mark Hargens said. “When will we know the actual amount we’re going to receive, and will we know that amount in time to raise tuition if needed?” Jasinski reminded the board that the state budget is due on Nixon’s desk on May 9. “That gives us enough time to know if we’re freezing tuition,” Jasinski said, “or raising by 1.5 percent.” If Northwest does not receive the 5 percent core funding increase from the state and raises tuition, the cost to students will rise to $181.33 per credit hour from a current $178.65. The regents also unanimously approved an increase in residence hall room rates that averages 3 percent depending on the housing option chosen by individual students. In addition, the board approved an increase in dining rates that also comes to around 3 percent per student. In remarks to the regents and a crowd of more than 100 people gathered in the J.W. Jones Student Union boardroom, Nixon congratulated the board for doing its part to keep higher education affordable. Over the past five years, Nixon said, Missouri has led the nation in holding down tuition increases at public universities. He said keeping costs low for students remains a priority for his administration. “When soldiers came back from World War II, they received the benefits of the G.I. Bill,” Nixon said. “They took advantage of this opportunity to buy houses, cars and washers and dryers. This action drove our country’s economy and made it the strongest in the world.”
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Nixon at Northwest
Gov. Jay Nixon speaks to a gathering of university administrators, faculty, students and community members Thursday during the Board of Regents meeting at Northwest Missouri State University. Nixon was in Maryville to voice support for the regents’ proposal not to raise tuition for the 2014-’15 school year.
Northwest is lauded for regents’ frugality MARYVILLE, Mo. — During his visit to Northwest Missouri State University Thursday Gov. Jay Nixon voiced wholehearted support for an attempt by the school’s Board of Regents to keep undergraduate tuition at its current level for the 2014-’15 academic year. Holding that line, however, is contingent on the Missouri General Assembly’s adopting the governor’s proposed higher education budget that would raise appropriations to state-assisted universities by as much as 8 percent.
If the Legislature cuts Nixon’s core funding increase for higher education to below 5 percent, Northwest would respond by raising its base tuition 1.5 percent, the maximum allowed under Missouri’s tuition cap, which ties such increases to the Consumer Price Index. “To continue growing Missouri’s economy, we know that good schools help create good jobs,” Nixon told a crowd of more than 100 people, including local educators and public officials, crowded in the
top-floor boardroom of the J.W. Jones Student Union. “By investing in Missouri’s universities and freezing tuition, we’re going to make sure students graduate from college with the skills they need to compete for good jobs, not a load of debt.” Nixon said he wished to “applaud” the university’s governing board for “making a commitment to keep college affordable by freezing tuition for next year.” Then he served a political ball directly into the Legislature’s court. “It’s now up to the Gen-
eral Assembly to keep its commitment to higher education by following my budget recommendations and making a real investment in our colleges and universities,” Nixon said. Northwest President John Jasinski said he supported what he called “Gov. Nixon’s ‘Good Schools, Good Jobs’ plan,” which he described as “a real investment in our university.” “Northwest has been on a sustained path toward protecting affordability, enhancing access and addressing quality and accountabil-
ity issues,” Jasinski said. “Under the governor’s proposal, and with the support of the General Assembly in protecting critical investment needs for higher education, we’ll be able to freeze undergraduate tuition next year so the quality education here at Northwest Missouri State University remains affordable.” Nixon’s budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year includes an additional $36.7 million in funding for Missouri’s public universities and retains a performancebased funding model imple-
mented in 2013. Northwest has qualified for 100 percent of the performance-based funds. In addition, a STEM initiative proposed by Nixon would provide an additional $22 million in core funding for higher education programs in science, technology, engineering and math. Other proposed spending by the governor includes $20 million for two-year community colleges to address addition what Nixon has described as a critical shortage of mental health workers.
McDanel awarded contract extension By TONY BROWN News editor
Greg McDanel
The Maryville City Council met earlier this month in closed session to conduct its annual performance review of City Manager Greg McDanel. Following the discussion the five-member governing board voted unanimously to renew McDanel’s “rollover” contract by adding another 12 months to the existing
four-year agreement. McDanel has served as the city’s chief executive officer for two years and moved into the city manager’s office at City Hall on the last day of February 2012. Before accepting the position here, McDanel held a similar post in Cherryvale, Kan., after spending five years as a land acquisition manager for the city of Independence. He graduated from Northwest
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Missouri State University in 2002 with a degree in geography and holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The Maryville council hired McDanel after interviews with five finalists from three states. That group was selected from among 14 semi-finalists and more than 60 initial applicants. McDanel began his tenure with the city at a starting annual salary
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of $84,450 and received a raise to $86,984 in 2013. According to minutes from the executive session, McDanel will now be compensated at Step 14, Level 10, of the city’s pay scale, which specifies yearly compensation totaling $97,937. McDanel is responsible for administering an annual budget of around $30 million and supervising a staff of 80 full-time employees.
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