Office of University Communications
Missouri State offers four new programs to assist returning students
Date: May 14, 2008
Contact: Belinda McCarthy
(417) 836-3119
Michael T. Nietzel
(417) 836-8500
SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State University has launched four new programs to assist students who want to continue their educations. All four programs begin this fall.
Three of the new incentive programs assist students who have either “stopped out” of a degree program, or who have graduated from college and now would like to sample a graduate course. All three programs provide a financial incentive for students who elect to return to college to finish their degrees or who want to explore their options for advanced graduate study.
The fourth program will provide financial assistance to City of Springfield employees who are participating in the City’s education reimbursement program.
“We want to increase the number of college graduates,” says Dr. Belinda McCarthy, Missouri State Provost. “It’s that simple. Graduating is not only good for the graduates; it’s good for the state. And, we also want to make it easy for anyone to sample our graduate program, whether it’s for advancement purposes, personal interest or just to satisfy a curiosity. We believe these three initiatives help accomplish those goals by encouraging and assisting students who want to resume their educations at any level.”
The four new programs and the qualifications for each are:
Complete Your Degree Incentive Grant - Undergraduate – students in this program will receive a one-time grant of $500 toward their cost of attendance in the fall semester 2008. To qualify, students must: be a degree-seeking undergraduate student who last attended Missouri State prior to the fall semester of 2006 and had completed at least 80 credit hours; or have graduated from Missouri State University-West Plains with an Associate of Arts degree prior to the fall semester of 2006; be in good academic standing at the time of last enrollment; have not earned a degree from another institution since leaving Missouri State; and apply for readmission by Aug. 29 and enroll for at least six credit hours in fall 2008.
Graduate Incentive First-Time Tuition (G.I.F.T.) – this program provides a chance for students to sample graduate studies by taking one three-credit-hour course with the cost reduced by $250. The three-hour graduate course is available for credit to any post-baccalaureate student who is registering for the first time in the Graduate College. Post-baccalaureate students are persons who have earned an undergraduate degree, but who are not part of a formal master’s or doctoral program. The G.I.F.T. program is intended to appeal to students who have been considering graduate education, but who have been hesitant to start back to school. To be eligible, students must have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university (completion of the Graduate Record Exam is not required) and complete a brief application form which includes listing their undergraduate degree.
City of Springfield Tuition Reimbursement Program – as a pilot program, Missouri State will provide a discount of $250 to City of Springfield employees who qualify for and take a course at Missouri State under the City’s tuition reimbursement program. The $250 discount will apply to each Missouri State course in which the employee enrolls.
“We believe that these initiatives come at a time when advanced education is more important than ever,” said Missouri State President Michael T. Nietzel. “These four programs provide increased accessibility to our programs at an affordable price for additional students. We are pleased to assist in this way. We are particularly pleased to give some extra help to the City of Springfield during its tough budget times.”
For more information about any or all of these programs, call Susan Cohen in the adult/commuter student services office at (417) 836-6364 or use this web site: http://ec.missouristate.edu/evening/scholarships.htm.