MU Measures Up
- MU now has an enrollment surpassing 34,700 students. This represents the 11th consecutive year of record student enrollment.
- MU has the fastest enrollment growth of any university in the Association of American Universities.
- Growth is coming at all levels – undergraduate, graduate, professional students, in-state and out-of-state students.
- MU is not seeing a reduction in quality in terms of retention and graduation rates or minority enrollment.
- The average time MU students take to complete their degrees is 4.28 years.
MU is operating at state funding levels below FY1999
- Because of reductions in state funding, MU is now operating at a funding level from the state below FY1999.
- With continued enrollment growth, MU has increased efficiencies and streamlined operations to provide education to more students. Faculty are teaching more sections, classes are being offered during more timeslots, and staff are supporting campus operations with reduced budgets and staffing.
- MU Extension is operating at a funding level that is 20% below that of a few yers ago. The University is seeking a statutory change to allow Extension to form optional local districts to increase efficiencies and provide a way to fund future Extension programming at the local level.
MU has a unique mission to the state
- No other institution has a mission of teaching, research, service and economic development. MU is excelling in all of these areas.
- MU attracts more than $116 million in federal research dollars annually to Missouri.
- MU plays a key role in educating future doctors, nurses, and physical and occupational therapists. The state must provide operating budget support to continue recent efforts to expand output of graduates in these fields.
MU has growing capital improvement needs
- No new capital construction funded by the state has occurred since 2003.
- Institutions face a growing backlog of maintenance and repair projects that state funding has not supported in recent years.
- The state needs to support its public higher education institutions with capital funding.