Missouri State University recently completed a six-month review of its scholarships in an effort to recruit more students with financial need or academic merit.
Zora Mulligan, executive vice president, said the overarching goal was to be able to provide more scholarships to more students.
“We are excited about this,” she said in a June 18 interview. “This is a process we hope to do every year.”
The result was a plan, recently presented to the MSU Board of Governors, that involves phasing out some scholarships to provide more money for others. The changes will apply to prospective students.
“We are definitely communicating with families,” Mulligan said. “Everyone who is currently receiving a scholarship will continue to do so.”
Mulligan said the priorities for institutional scholarships will be academic merit and financial need, such as the MOState Access Award, which helps fill in the gaps for students eligible for a federal Pell Grant. Qualified students may not have to pay anything in tuition and fees.
“It has brought in a great group of students for us,” she said.
One guiding principle for the changes was to “bring students to campus,” Mulligan said.
Asked if phasing out diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI was a factor in the changes, Mulligan said no. She noted that review was separate and completed earlier.
In a June 17 blog, MSU President Richard “Biff” Williams recapped the work.
He said a consultant was hired in December to work with a team involving admissions, financial aid, institutional effectiveness and finance staff.
“The goal was to determine how to strategically manage our scholarships to increase yield among admitted students, as well as overall enrollment and net revenue,” Williams wrote.
“Ultimately, the team created a plan that increases the number of students we support with scholarships but also manages expenses. We’ll phase out some of our scholarship programs while increasing other awards to make them more impactful.”
He pointed to the following changes:
