Forsee talks tuition, aims to overcome obstacles

Posted to Board of Curators meeting: Oct. 22-23, 2009 by Alex Silverman at 9:50 a.m., Oct. 23, 2009

Welcome to day two of The Maneater's live coverage of the UM system Board of Curators meeting. Keep checking back throughout the morning for all major updates from today's sessions.

UM system President Gary Forsee opened Friday's meetings with his State of the University address to the curators. In his address, Forsee stressed that it is a pivotal time for the UM system in regards to overcoming economic hurdles while maintaining commitment to the university's mission.

Fiscally speaking, Forsee was straightforward about the system's current situation in the midst of a national recession.

"As you would expect in this economic climate, news is not good," Forsee said. "We could have as much as a 10 percent challenge to our operating budget."

Still, Forsee said he believes that the UM system should be more relevant during the state's toughest times.

"Shouldn't we be viewed as part of the solution?" Forsee said.

In discussing methods for overcoming economic hurdles, Forsee addressed tuition and called for a major change. By the end of this calendar year, Forsee said he would like each of the system's four campuses to assess their tuition needs. By doing this, Forsee plans to establish variable tuitions for each of the campuses.

In addition to fiscal obstacles, Forsee pointed out several other issues, including accountability for student learning and outcomes, access and student success, aligning high schools and community colleges with universities, shifting demographics and e-learning.

Forsee concluded his address by calling for active examination over the next year. He said he hopes to gain useful information in the areas of requirements for e-learning and hybrid learning, clearer pathways from high school and community college to university and clarity in credit hour requirements.

"We want to lead, we want to be a part of the solution," Forsee said. "We need to be willing to take on these vexing issues."

Prior to Forsee's presentation, Board Chairman Bo Fraser made remarks of his own about the system's utilization of innovative methods.

“The Univeristy of Missouri is committed to advancing its mission for the state and thinking creatively is how that needs to be done," Fraser said.

One example that Fraser cited as creative thinking was the Tiger Institue for Health Innovation. Fraser admitted that some media outlets scrutinized the system's partnership with Cerner Corporation in this venture, but claimed that these criticizers missed the big picture.

"Public-private partnerships represent some of the finest creative thinking by our university leadership," Fraiser said. "The Tiger Institute will save Missourians 1 billion annually by creating one of the nation's most digitized health systems."

Fraser also honored former UM system Interim President Gordon H. Lamb for his service and dedication to the university.

"It was a privilege and a real pleasure to work with the Board of Curators," Lamb said.