Education

The University of Missouri Health System has announced that chief executive officer Jim Ross will retire at the end of the year.

Speaking on KBIA’s Intersection earlier this week, Deputy Commissioner for the Missouri Department of Higher Education Paul Wagner said that Missouri has been a national leader in keeping college tuition down. He said that tuition increases at public four year institutions in the state were the lowest in the country over the last three years. That statistic comes from a College Board Report released earlier this month. Wagner points to two factors that have helped limit tuition increases.

Watch the show and join the conversation on the Intersection website.

Classes for the fall semester at MU begin today, and as students return to school a campus group fighting plans to dramatically revamp the University of Missouri Press is holding a public celebration of the academic publishing house.

The Coalition to Save the University of Missouri Press opposes system President Tim Wolfe's decision to fire the press's 10 employees. The university’s plans for the press include a digital-driven alternative overseen by the editor of the Missouri Review literary journal.

As public school starts Thursday in both Columbia and Jefferson City, those school districts are dealing with a surge in student enrollment. To deal with this, the districts have hired several teachers at the last minute to maintain a healthy ratio of students to instructors.

Although enrollment numbers are expected to fluctuate for the next few weeks, Columbia and Jefferson City have added several teachers at the elementary level to accommodate the influx of younger students.

Electric bills are on the way down for some residents of western Missouri, thanks to a decline in fuel prices.

The Missouri Public Service Commission has reduced the fuel adjustment charge for Kansas City Power & Light's Greater Missouri Operations. Fuel adjustment clauses allow power companies to adjust rates for changes in the price of natural gas.

The reduction takes effect Sept. 1.

As College students make their way back to Columbia this week, thousands of international students are among them. At Stephens Lake Park, an event is meant to help these students adjust to their new city.