Government Relations
UM Legislative Update Newsletter
December 16, 2005
Senate Education Chair holds higher education summit with college presidents
Sen. Gary Nodler (R-Joplin), chair of the Senate Education Committee, held a higher education summit with college and university presidents Dec. 8 to discuss plans for higher education legislation in the upcoming session. Nodler distributed a list of bills he plans to file and noted that it is likely the legislation will be wrapped into an “omnibus” higher education bill during the session. He was joined by Rep. Gayle Kingery (R-Poplar Bluff), chair of the House Higher Education Committee; Sen. Charlie Shields (R-St. Joseph), chair of the Joint Committee on Education; and Greg Fitch, commissioner of higher education for Missouri.
Bills discussed during the forum included:
- SB590, which authorizes the CBHE to levy a fine against any institution that egregiously violates board polices. The measure also requires binding dispute resolution in cases where two institutions disagree over jurisdictional boundaries and designates the CBHE as the final arbitrator in such disputes. This legislation stems from the dispute between Three-Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff and Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau earlier this year regarding joint education centers at several locations.
- SB654, which establishes an associate degree transfer incentive scholarship program for students who complete a two-year associate’s degree and transfer to a public four-year institution.
- SB655, which provides authority to the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority to provide school loans to primary and secondary institutions for remedial and test-preparation courses.
- SB656, which modifies requirements for out-of-state public higher education institutions offering courses in Missouri so that they adhere to the same criteria as in-state institutions.
The group also heard a proposal by Sen. Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau) that would double the Bright Flight scholarship from $2,000 to $4,000. SB662 would provide the first increase to the program since it was launched in 1987.
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