JEFFERSON CITY — The University of Missouri system pushed back Wednesday against a measure that would allow other public universities in the state to also offer research doctorates and certain professional degrees.
A UM lobbyist appeared before a panel of Senate lawmakers to oppose a measure that would allow other universities, like Southeast Missouri State University and Truman State University, to offer research doctorates and professional degree programs independent of the UM system.
as “the state’s only public research university and the exclusive grantor of research doctorates†and that it is the only state college or university that can offer doctoral degrees or first-professional degrees, including dentistry, law, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine.
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Limiting the availability of those degree programs is a question of “fiscal responsibility,†Dustin Schnieders, UM system assistant vice president of government relations, told the Post-Dispatch. “We just don’t have enough resources.â€
At the hearing, Schnieders said that demographic shifts will likely lead to a smaller pool of qualified students seeking the degrees in question, and duplicating doctoral programs will drive up costs.
There’s currently “no public call†for a change to the existing model, Schnieders said.
, a group advocating to change Missouri’s degree restrictions, is backing the legislation that would strip the University of Missouri of its special position in state law related to degree programs.
“The University of Missouri will have a monopoly forever on all Ph.D. degrees and all of its monopolized programs†unless legislation is passed, said Thomas Strong, a Springfield attorney and spokesperson for the group.
University ratings are increasingly being viewed through the lens of “return on investment,†said Ed Gargas, a former president of the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents. If regional and other public institutions can’t confer degrees that offer a higher income potential, they won’t be able to compete, he said.
“This isn’t about taking anything away from one institution and giving it to another,†said Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Springfield Republican who is sponsoring the measure. “This is about opportunities for students and our future workforce.â€
Hough is the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and is expected to announce a run for lieutenant governor in the coming days.
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