© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Missouri selected for $2 million in grants to improve its higher education

taylor.a
/
FLICKR

Governor Nixon announced Monday that the nonprofit group USA Funds will give Missouri $2 million in grants to improve its higher education system. This money will go towards improving the state’s higher education affordability and innovation.

  Through a $1 million grant, USA Funds will help to expand the Missouri Innovation Campus initiative. This program establishes partnerships between high schools, community colleges, four-year colleges, universities and area businesses.

“The goal of the program is to help train students for career opportunities in high demand fields such as technology and healthcare,” said Liz Coleman, Director of Communications for the Missouri Department of Higher Education.

USA Funds will help up to three Missouri institutions expand their Innovation Campus program or launch a new one.  The application process for receiving a portion of the money is now open and the state will choose the awarded institutions by early December.

In addition, $1 million will go towards helping four-year universities implement competency-based models of education. These models will help students graduate in less time.

“These competency-based models allow students to advance based on the models and skills they demonstrate, rather than the time they spend in class,” said Governor Jay Nixon’s spokesman Scott Holste.

The program is also designed to help students earn a degree at an affordable cost and reduce their debt.

USA Funds is a nonprofit organization that works to build success in higher education and to match institutions’ curricula with employer demands.