By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri Western State University reports a 4% increase in new students on the St. Joseph campus.
Missouri Western President Elizabeth Kennedy notes the university hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, but it finally is showing signs of growth after two very rough years.
“It’s really a testimony to what Missouri Western has been through, our programs that we have,” Kennedy tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “You know, students vote with their feet. So, our in-demand programs are starting to see some growth.”
Missouri Western has seen growth in education, criminal justice, psychology, construction engineering technology, and digital animation programs.
Missouri Western recently received a $230,000 grant from the Missouri Board of Nursing to create a program for Licensed Practical Nurses who want to study to become Registered Nurses.
“What they can do is while they are working, they’re still paid but their tuition is also paid for,” according to Kennedy. “We’re doing it as a pilot program with both Mosaic hospital, but also Liberty Hospital, which again kind of demonstrates the shortage in nursing everywhere.”
Missouri Western also added 21 new faculty members this fall. Missouri Western suffered a freshmen enrollment decline of more than 25% in 2020; 15% last year.
Kennedy says it appears students are ready for the on-campus, in-person student experience as opposed to the virtual experience during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
“College, of course, is about your academic experience, right? The grades you get. The degree you earn. What you learned, the knowledge you gain,” Kennedy says. “But it’s also a time in young adults’ lives for them to mature and develop and to really determine the person that they’re going to be.”
Kennedy says enrollment still lags behind pre-pandemic levels, but is headed in the right direction after two really down years.
Missouri Western has a total enrollment of 4,022, which is down about 8% from last year.