Faculty Council discusses larger than expected enrollment drop

ABC 17 News was at the University of Missouri’s Faculty Council Meeting at Mizzou Thursday . This came hours after the Missouri House of Representatives voted to approve $8.6 million in budget cuts for the UM system.

However, the main focus was the larger than expected drop in enrollment ABC 17 News uncovered Wednesday .

The Faculty Council discussed drop in enrollment and how it will affect the different schools and colleges. They also discussed several reasons for the enrollment drop. One reason? There are less students to recruit – less high school seniors.

The campus protests from from the fall were not mentioned in the meeting as a reason for the drop, but legislators passed additional cuts in the House Thursday .

One faculty member that deals with financial issues that face the University tells ABC 17 News that since the University is really the only research school in the state, it’s a way to generate entrepreneurs and new jobs.

“I’s a very important institution,” said John Gall, the Faculty Council’s Fiscal Affairs Chair “and I’m hopeful that the legislation will understand that this is an issue with regard to economic development within the state to help and support research intensive universities, which in Missouri, is primarily Mizzou.”