November 19, 2017

By Stephi Smith

At Chancellor Alexander Cartwright’s “University for Missouri: A Commitment to Student Success” address at the Reynolds Alumni Center on Wednesday to mark his first 100 days as chancellor, he announced two new scholarships and outlined how he wants to make the transition from a community college to MU easier for students.

One of the scholarships Cartwright announced was the Black and Gold Scholarship, which will award up to $15,000 a semester to out-of-state “legacy” students, or students with familial relationship to MU alumni, with an ACT score of 25 or above or graduate in the top 50 percent of their high school class.

The Black and Gold Scholarship expands upon the previous Mizzou Heritage Scholarship, which waived out-of-state fees for legacy students who earned a 27 or above on the ACT.

The second scholarship, the Border State Scholars scholarship, reduces out-of-state tuition by $2,500 for students attending MU from the eight states bordering Missouri.

Cartwright said these scholarships will help bring more students to MU who might not have chosen to attend the university due to the cost of tuition. Having more out-of-state students helps not only the university, but the state as a whole because many students pursue jobs within the state after college, which helps to boost the economy, he said.

MU News Bureau director Christian Basi said it’s difficult to identify how many students will benefit from these new scholarships because of the fluctuating enrollment at MU in the past couple of years. Basi said the main goal of administration at MU is to make college more affordable for not only Missouri residents but every student who attends.

The funding for the scholarships will come from both internal revenue as well as future fundraising projects the university plans to conduct, Basi said.

In addition, Cartwright also announced initiatives to smooth out the transition from a community college to MU.

He showed examples of students who had taken less traditional pathways in college.

“It is vital that we embrace community colleges and other institutions that educate transfer students as an important, modern pathway to the university,” he said.

Cartwright said he feels a personal connection and understanding to the transition between community college and a four-year university. Cartwright earned his GED after moving from the Bahamas to Iowa and later enrolled in a community college before earning a doctorate in engineering at the University of Iowa.

“We need to be ready to meet transfer students’ needs,” he said.

Obstacles transfer students face include credit transferring, Cartwright said. Not every course taken at a community college transfers to the university.

To combat this, Cartwright said he plans to work with Pelema Morrice, vice provost for enrollment management, to partner with Missouri community colleges to ensure general education credits as well as elective credits are easily transferrable to MU.

Current initiatives to help students transition to the university, such as the Peer Undergraduate Mentoring Program with the Honors College, don’t focus on transfer students. PUMP pairs third- and fourth-year students with first- and second-year students to “share their strategies for navigating college successfully,” according to its website.

Cartwright said he would like to continue with programs such as this one and introduce new ones for older students who don’t enroll as freshmen.

Additionally, Cartwright said he would like to simplify administrative complexity within the university to make the administration feel more accessible to students.

He said he wants there to be a “one-stop shop” for all students to handle a variety of needs at MU, such as financial aid and academic assistance, among other resources. Cartwright plans to work on this with Jim Spain, vice provost for undergraduate studies.

Cartwright said he hopes having help more readily available will increase graduation rates among students at MU and lessen the amount of students struggling in classes and financially.

“I want to ask that everyone gets involved, share your ideas, innovate and help us as we strive to graduate Mizzou-made, lifelong Tigers,” Cartwright said. “Together, I know we can succeed.”

_Edited by Olivia Garrett | ogarrett@themaneater.com_