Michele Skalicky talks with Missouri State University president Doctor Biff Williams about the latest enrollment numbers for the university.
Biff, thanks for joining me.
Williams: Thanks for having me.
Today we're going to talk numbers, specifically enrollment numbers for Missouri State University, which came out in late September. New enrollment records were set for both the Missouri state system as a whole and the Springfield campus system. Enrollment increased by 361 students, for a total of 27,235 students. Break this down for us. Who's included in those numbers? Because it's not just full time seated or online students.
Williams: It's dual credit. It's full time. It's students that are attending at West Plains. It's the entire system combined.
Where are you seeing the most growth?
Williams: I think we're seeing the most growth right now in dual enrollment. We have seen the most growth in dual enrollment probably for the past decade. These are students that are enrolled in high school but also can take a class with Missouri State University. We've seen a steady decline in, just like any other institution in in the nation, we've seen a steady decline in degree seeking students. And that's where our strategic plan, that's where we're going to be focused is degree seeking moving forward.
I don't know if you know the answer to this, and maybe there are many different answers, but why is there a decline in degree seeking students?
Williams: I think there's — the job market has been very good. There's a false narrative out in the nation that you don't need a degree. So less students. And then there's the enrollment cliff. There's the demographic cliff where there's less population, so there's less students that are coming out of high school and thus less enrolling in the college.
Let's talk about dual credit that you mentioned. Why does Missouri State offer it and how does it benefit the university?
Williams: Well, dual credit really is an affordable opportunity for students in high school. They can enroll in a class. They can see if they're prepared. I think it benefits our students that are thinking about Missouri State University. Some might be doubtful that they can be successful in college, and this gives them an opportunity to test the waters, so to speak, to take a college level class and see what they can do.
How important is it to grow overall enrollment numbers for the economic stability of the university? And where would you like to see the most growth?
Williams: Well, it's very important. You know, most people do not want to think of a university as a business, but there are bills to be paid, and so our enrollment is very important. A degree seeking student brings about 4,000 (dollars). A dual credit student brings about $300. So there's a big difference. And so with our new strategic plan Igniting Opportunity, our focus is to have 30,000 students by 2030. And we really are going to focus a lot on our degree seeking students. We believe in the higher education proposition. We believe that this improves your life. And so going from 17,000 degree seeking to 20,000 students that are degree seeking by 2030 is our goal.
And how are you going to work to get to that number?
Williams: Well, we've done a number of things. And again, this is our plan. And so our faculty, staff, students, alumni have all come together to create this plan. And there's a number of initiatives. We elevated our enrollment management director to a vice president. We just hired Don medley, who has hit the ground running. And we are looking at personnel hires there. How do we recruit? How do we — how do we conduct our tours? What are the markets that we're focusing on? What are our messages that we're sharing with students when we have information? How are we processing that information? How quickly are we admitting students? How quickly are we getting award letters out? How well are we fundraising for more scholarships to provide an opportunity for these students. So there's there's a lot of initiatives going on right now, and we're pretty optimistic about the future.
We've discussed international students on this show before. The number of international students was down more than 1% from last fall. What impact has that had on Missouri State?
Williams: It's had a tremendous impact, especially if you look at our graduate numbers that were down significantly. Those were primarily international students, and we saw that this summer and a few years before that it's a little bit more difficult to get student visas with all that's happening in the world right now. And so we are focused on how can we right that direction. And we're working very hard to see what are the markets that we need to pursue for international education.
And Missouri State is going to host Showcase October 25th. It's a special open house for prospective students. What can you tell us about that event and who can attend?
Williams: We're excited. These are for high school students, but really it's open to anyone that would like to come. It's an opportunity for these high school students to come and learn about all facets of higher education and Missouri State University. We always have a great turnout. We have great volunteerism from our faculty and staff. Each of the colleges have their booths there. It's been fun to be part of that and to welcome the students and see the energy and excitement for coming to college.
All right. Well, thank you for talking to me today.
Williams: Thank you.
