Budget Update

We have talked frequently this spring about our budget, and I want to report to you where we are currently. Our goal is to present a balanced FY’25 budget to the Board of Governors at its June meeting. We had just over $4 million to identify to do so. Working with Interim VP for Finance and Administration Dr. Gerald Shields and our accounting partners at Protiviti, we now have approximately a half-million dollars remaining to present a balanced budget.

About $3 million was identified through a combination of revenue and cost initiatives. Incremental revenue was identified through the optimization of scholarships along with revisions of enrollment for academic year 2024-2025. Cost initiatives were supported by the University Foundation and savings associated with the timing and phasing of replacement staff.

This afternoon, the Missouri House and Senate moved forward with the Governor's recommended 3% core appropriation increase for higher education, giving SEMO another half-million dollars to apply toward balancing the budget. More information is included in the Legislative Update below.

SEMO's proposed FY’25 budget includes an anticipated 4.29% increase in tuition and fees to be presented to the Board of Governors at its May 17 meeting for consideration and approval. Please visit semo.edu/news following the Board meeting for information on action taken. The proposed FY’25 budget also includes a 2% salary increase for faculty and staff.

While this is encouraging, we still have additional funds to identify to meet our balanced budget goal.

With preliminary estimates of budgetary deficits in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, as soon as a FY’25 budget is approved, work will begin to identify initiatives to both increase revenue and reduce expenses.

Legislative Update/FY’25 Budget

This will continue updates in previous communications regarding our legislative engagement and the FY’25 Budget. 

To date, the Legislature has Truly Agreed and Finally Passed 16 pieces of legislation and the Governor has acted on six of them. One of the bills that was truly agreed and finally passed this week includes a provision impacting higher education, which deals with scholarships and benefits for members of the National Guard. Throughout the legislative session we have provided comments on this legislation, and we will continue to engage on the topic as necessary. There are other pieces of legislation pending that deal with transfer of credit, degree authority, unmanned aircraft systems and other topics that the University is continuing to monitor. The end of the legislative session is next Friday, May 17. 

Regarding the budget, you may recall that Governor Parson delivered his State of the State Address in January and recommended the following investments specific to SEMO:

• A 3% increase in core operating appropriations for state colleges and universities. For SEMO, this would equal an appropriation of $55,541,091.

• Additional capital funding in the amount of $18.5 million for Southeast’s Modern Campus Transformational Project, which would be new investment in addition to the $11 million appropriated in FY23 and $18.5 million in FY24.

The Missouri House and Senate have completed their work on the budget, and the final version of the higher education budget includes the Governor’s recommended 3% core appropriation increase. The recommended capital appropriations for SEMO were also included in the final version of the capital appropriations budget. The budget bills now go to Governor Parson for his final review and signature. Historically, the Governor has not taken final action on the budget until mid-to-late June. Therefore, we will continue to monitor the budget in the weeks ahead.

Enrollment Transformation Task Force Update

I appointed the Enrollment Transformation Task Force (ETTF) in February, and since that time, the group has evaluated enrollment trends, challenges, and opportunities for SEMO to succeed in the present landscape. To date, its work has involved examining shifting demographics, changing student and family expectations, and understanding the impact of technology on enrollment processes. 

The ETTF invited the executive staff, deans, chairs, directors, and executive committees of campus groups including Certified Professional Staff, Clerical Technical Staff, Faculty Senate, and Student Government to attend its May 2 meeting. The Task Force discussed some actionable strategies it has identified to-date that have the greatest potential to address enrollment challenges and mobilize our campus community. 

The presentation is available in the Task Force toolkit at my.SEMO.edu by searching Enrollment Transformation. I encourage you to take a look and discuss with your supervisor or colleagues who may have been in attendance.

While we are not the only institution working to address enrollment concerns, we must think creatively in how we deliver education in the future.

Using the feedback received from this meeting and continuous feedback from the campus community, the Enrollment Transformation Task Force will finalize and submit recommendations based on its spring 2024 work to me. Those items will be incorporated into a revised Strategic Enrollment Plan, to be shared with the Board of Governors in June 2024.

The Enrollment Transformation Task Force will continue to meet in academic year 2025.

Questions, feedback, and ideas are welcome. Please submit these to ettf@semo.edu.

Personnel Updates

Interim Provost-I have appointed Dr. Doug Koch interim provost effective June 1, 2024. Dr. Melissa Odegard will assume the interim vice provost and dean of graduate studies role effective Aug. 1, 2024.

Vice President for Finance & Administration-I have asked Dr. Debbie Below, vice president for Enrollment Management and Student success, to chair the search committee for a vice president for Finance and Administration. Also serving on the search committee is Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Brady Barke, Vice Provost Dr. Doug Koch, and Assistant Vice President for Advancement Amanda Lincoln.

The search firm AGB will work with us throughout the process, including establishing goals for the position as well as recruiting candidates who meet our leadership priorities. As this process progresses, I will keep you updated.

Transforming Lives Campaign Update

SEMO's Transforming Lives campaign continues to seek support from our alumni, friends, and donors. We have raised $44.5 million of our $60 million goal. I am pleased to report we received an anonymous $750,000 endowment to support work in our Anthropology program. We are making good progress toward funding improvements for academics, technology, facilities, and athletics.