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Pearce presents legislation to Senate Education Committee
JEFFERSON CITY-- A measure that focuses on retention, remediation and ease of transfer between two- and four-year higher education institutions, sponsored by Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, was recently considered by the Senate Education Committee.
Senate Bill 455 would modify the current duties of the Missouri Coordinating Board of Higher Education, which is responsible for certain fiscal, planning and academic programs for higher education institutions, among other duties. The measure would require the board to develop policies for all two- and four-year institutions to replicate the best practices in remediation from sources around the country.
"In order to encourage our students to go to school -- to stay in school -- we must put in place policy that helps Missouri students and the institutions that teach them in order to reach this goal," Pearce said. "The legislature stated that it wants 60 percent of adult Missourians to have a college degree by 2025. We should give higher education students every opportunity possible to excel, as well as institutions the mechanisms they need, to achieve their education goals."
The legislation would require the creation of a library of transferable courses between two- and four-year institutions, and the development of a policy to foster a reverse transfer for students who have collected enough hours to earn an associate degree from an institution that offers such a degree.
To develop this course library, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education would be required to assess entry-level, general education courses across the state in order to align existing competencies.
"Currently, 34.9 percent of Missourians hold college degrees, just under the national average of 37 percent. The legislature needs to do all it can so more of our state's citizens can obtain a college degree," Pearce said.
Joining Pearce to testify on behalf of SB 455 were Dr. Charles M. Ambrose, president of the University of Central Missouri; Debbie Goodall, from the Missouri Community College Association; and Dr. David Russell, commissioner of the Coordinating Board of Higher Education.