MU strategic enrollment committee to hold first meeting in June
ABC 17 News has learned that MU’s new strategic enrollment management committee will hold its first meeting in early to mid June.
The university announced the creation of the committee in April. An MU spokesperson says invitations have been sent out to individuals on campus who are being asked to join the committee. The committee is being co-chaired by Pelema Morrice, vice provost for enrollment management and Pat Okker, interim dean of the College of Arts and Science.
“This committee will help us create our strategy for the future in the years to come,” Morrice said in a statement in April. “We continue to expect high-quality, but fewer, first-time college students for the next year or two. We expect this committee to complete its work over the next 12 to 18 months.”
Morrice’s remarks were later confirmed when MU released its enrollment numbers for the fall 2017 semester. The university is expecting the smallest incoming freshman class in nearly two decades.
Five days after enrollment numbers were released, the university announced that each college, school and division will have to cut its budget by 12 percent.
“There will be programs that we’re going to have to phase out because they no longer meet the mission of the university or the goals that we’ve established for excellence,” President Mun Choi said at last month’s curator’s meeting. “We’re going to find ways to become more efficient, but at the same time, reallocation so that we can grow he programs that need to grow.”
In spite of the cuts, Choi said there will be growth at Mizzou.
“In the school of business, engineering and medicine…they are going to be hiring faculty members that elevate the research and the teaching mission of the university,” he said, adding, “So no retrenching, we’re moving foward.”
As ABC 17 News previously reported, Mizzou has spent more on advertising and marketing following the 2015 protests on campus. Last year, spending in that area jumped by more than $200,000.
Tuition is one of the primary ways the university generates revenue, so increasing enrollment will be crucial to the university’s success moving forward.
