Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development Archives

Fast Track financial aid funding still available

February 7, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The state still has funds left to give to Missourians interested in the new Fast Track financial aid program. Last October, the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development began distributing funds to qualifying students attending Missouri’s public colleges and universities. The program’s budget this year is $5 million.

Fast Track financial aid funding still available

Fast Track covers the full cost of schooling for adults mainly 25 or older pursuing a certificate, credential or bachelors in a high demand field. Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development Director Zora Mulligan tells Missourinet some of the industries the program centers around are teaching, skilled trades, allied health and STEM related jobs.

“When you look at what are Fast Track students participating in, it’s mostly Allied health, which makes perfect sense. A lot of students also taking advantage of opportunities in business fields,” she says.

Mulligan says interest in the program is increasing statewide.

“We’re getting tons and tons of traffic on our social media, on our website. They’re a lot of people looking into this opportunity and thinking about whether it’s the right time for them to go back to school. Ozarks Technical Community College, for example, they’ve got a bunch of students enrolled in Fast Track,” says Mulligan. “When we look at what they’re choosing to enroll in, Fast Track is really focused on areas where we know people can get fairly short term training that connects them with a job that is in demand and has pretty good wages.”

Requirements include a maximum household income of $80,000 per year if filing taxes jointly or $40,000 annually for a single income household. Those awarded a grant must work in Missouri for three calendar years or pay interest.

For more information about Fast Track, click here.

Double digit jump in Missourians getting college certificate or degree

December 27, 2019 By Alisa Nelson

The percentage of students graduating from Missouri’s colleges and universities has increased by about 15% since 2011. A state press release says the largest increases come from Missouri’s community and technical colleges, which graduated 26% more students in 2018 than in 2011.

Double digit increase in number of Missourians getting college certificate or degree

Public universities have graduated nearly 19% more students during the same period. Private college graduation numbers increased by 0.60% during that time.

Five schools have increased graduation rates by more than 10 percentage points since 2011; Fontbonne University, Saint Louis University, State Technical College, College of the Ozarks, and Ozarks Technical Community College. Seventeen other institutions have seen at least a 5% increase.

Since 2011, the number of Missouri’s minority students getting a certificate or degree has jumped by 38%.

“More students who start college are working hard and completing their degrees,” said Zora Mulligan, commissioner of the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. “Several institutions are breaking down barriers to degree completion and those efforts are making a significant advance in improving graduation rates.”

In 2011, Missouri set a goal to have 60% of working-age adults hold a high-quality certificate or degree by 2025. U.S. Census estimates and wage data say nearly 54% of Missourians have a college degree or certificate.

Parson predicts executive order on apprenticeships will strengthen Missouri’s workforce (AUDIO)

November 12, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s governor traveled to Columbia on Tuesday afternoon to sign an executive order creating an Office of Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning, within the state Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development.

Governor Mike Parson speaks at the Apprenticeship Missouri Summit in Columbia on November 12, 2019, as Higher Education Commissioner Zora Mulligan listens (photo from Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth)

Governor Mike Parson (R) signed it during the Apprenticeship Missouri Summit, at the Drury Plaza East. The department hosted the summit.

“Through this office we will continue working to increase apprenticeships and work-based learning opportunities,” Parson says. “We have some of the hardest-working, talented individuals in the nation right here in the state of Missouri.”

The governor says the state must ensure Missourians are getting the skills and training they need to fill high-demand jobs.

He says apprenticeships play a key role in developing a workforce that’s prepared to meet future demands. Parson told the audience that Missouri has reached 10,000 new registered apprenticeships.

“We recently reached the milestone of being second in the nation for new apprenticeships, second in the United States of America Missouri is,” he said to applause from the audience of about 100.

He also notes Missouri ranks second in the nation for completed apprenticeships.

Parson says the more training and education Missourians have, the more productive they can be. Governor Parson spoke to Missourinet after the ceremony, saying the executive order he’s signed will strengthen the state’s workforce.

“You really establish this apprenticeship program from here on out, is what you’re really doing. You’re making everybody know that this is truly something we’re putting a huge emphasis on in the Department of Higher Education that we want to get done,” says Parson.

He says Missouri must continue to take action on workforce development, noting only 28 percent of Missourians have degrees and that 72 percent do not. He praises the Legislature’s bipartisan passage of “Fast Track,” which allows Missourians to receive advanced training in high-demand areas.

State Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau, sponsored Fast Track.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and Governor Mike Parson, which was recorded at the Apprenticeship Missouri Summit in Columbia on November 12, 2019: