Helping Higher Education

From the desk of Senator David Pearce

Even in times of tight budgets, we can provide legislative help to our two- and four-year colleges. In order to encourage our students to go to school and to stay in school, it is the responsibility of lawmakers to create policy that will help both Missouri students and the institutions that teach them to reach this goal. The legislature has stated that it wants 60 percent of adult Missourians to have a college degree by 2025. We should give higher education students every opportunity possible to excel, as well as those institutions the mechanisms they need to achieve their education goals.

This week, we heard my higher education bill in the first Senate Education Committee hearing of the legislative season. My act, Senate Bill 455, would modify the current duties of the Missouri Coordinating Board of Higher Education, which is responsible for certain fiscal, planning and academic programs for higher education institutions, among other duties. The measure would require the board to develop policies for all two- and four-year institutions to replicate the best practices in remediation from sources around the country.

The legislation requires the creation of a library of transferable courses between two- and four-year institutions, as well as the development of a policy to foster reverse transfer for students who may not have enough hours for a bachelor’s degree, but have collected enough hours to earn an associate’s degree from an institution that offers such a degree.

In order to develop this course library, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would be required to assess entry-level, general education courses across the state in order to align existing competencies.

Currently, 34.9 percent of Missourians hold college degrees, just under the national average of 37 percent. There is another 24 percent of the population that have some college credit, but no degree. That means approximately 750,000 people in this state are just steps away from earning a degree. The legislature needs to do all it can so more of our state’s citizens can obtain a college degree. Measures like SB 455 focus on promoting Missourian’s access to higher education — an act the General Assembly must address this legislative session if we wish to reach our goal of an educated citizenry.

Joining me before with the Senate Education Committee to discuss the importance of SB 455 were Dr. Charles M. Ambrose, President of the University of Central Missouri; Debbie Goodall, from the Missouri Community College Association; and Dr. David Russell, Commissioner of the Coordinating Board of Higher Education. I would like to extend my thanks to each of these individuals for taking their time to present information at the hearing.

To view current action on any of legislation I am involved with this session, visitwww.senate.mo.gov/pearce, under the “Legislation” tab, click on “Sponsored Bills.”

As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.



Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.