Schools may collaborate more on degrees | The Columbia Daily Tribune - Columbia, Missouri - 0 views
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George Mehaffy on 23 Dec 10Schools may collaborate more on degrees By Janese Silvey Columbia Daily Tribune Tuesday, October 5, 2010 A statewide charge for public colleges to review degree offerings is just a large-scale version of what institutions already do, a University of Missouri System administrator said. The Missouri Department of Higher Education is asking public colleges and universities to submit reports this month showing which degree programs are only graduating a handful of students annually, shining a spotlight on areas where schools could collaborate and be more efficient. There are dozens of examples of where Missouri colleges and universities have already teamed up, said Steve Graham, vice president of academic affairs for the UM System. MU partners with Missouri State University to provide a master's degree in library and information science, for instance, and with Missouri Southern State University to offer a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. "In doctoral programs that are small, it makes a lot of sense to collaborate," MU Provost Brian Foster said. "Certainly we're interested in doing that." Talk of the degree program review is already generating new ideas, Graham said. An association of chief academic officers from public colleges and universities, for instance, is considering how to redistribute faculty and programs and come up with new ways to provide common, high-demand courses."