I have been honored the last few years to serve as a commissioner for the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), serving as one of Missouri’s executive members of the 60-member governing body of the compact. There are currently 12 states in the compact including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Recently, I attended a semi-annual meeting in Indianapolis to discuss ideas for higher education in our region.

One of the major topics of discussion during the event was the future of higher education in the form of Massive Online Open Courses, or MOOCs. By using the web and electronic interaction, as well as traditional materials like videos and books, MOOCs are learning forums that surpass standard classroom study. The issue of MOOCs is particularly relative to Missouri as we assist more and more students to the finish line of graduation. The convenience of online courses, and that these MOOC courses are free, will be a large part of the future of higher education, and we must prepare for it.

I was honored to be able to present some thoughts from the 2013 legislative session to my colleagues at the MHEC meeting. I was pleased to be able to discuss the 1.6 percent increase in the budget for higher education, including increases of $1 million for the A+ Scholarship Program, $2.4 million for the Bright Flight Scholarship Program and $1 million for the Access Missouri Financial Assistance Program. I also presented thoughts on Senate Bill 106 and Senate Bill 117, both measures relating to assisting military personnel in our state. SB 106 awards academic credit for some forms of military training, while SB 117 helps establish local residency for members separating from the military in regards to in-state status for higher education purposes.

I also discussed performance funding. With more than 30 states utilizing the model already, we will see performance funding make an appearance in the upcoming session.

Another program the Show-Me State launched this year was Western Governors University (WGU). A digital school, WGU opened courses in February of this year. Within two months, 468 students were enrolled in the online-only school. The jury is still out on the impact WGU will have in Missouri, but, like MOOCs, an online option will always be attractive to certain students.

Serving on the commission for MHEC allows many opportunities to discuss higher education with many of our neighboring states. I was joined at the recent MHEC meeting by Mark Smith of Washington University. Many of the ideas presented by other commissioners come back to the Capitol with me and might even become a part of legislation for the following legislative session. I enjoy these meetings and hope to continue to benefit for many years to come.

As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.