Legislation passed in 2016 directed the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to develop a pilot program in Guided Pathways to Success (statutory reference section 173.2515 RSMo, Development of a Guided Pathway to Success Pilot Program).
The pilot will provide to provide students with information about clear curricular paths to a degree. For many students having a clear path to completion is more helpful than having to navigate a wide range of degrees and courses. Providing students with a clear path forward will reduce “wasted” credits, time to completion, and the overall costs of obtaining a degree.
In November, 2016 the Commissioner of Higher Education requested proposals for participation in the Guided Pathways to Success Pilot Program.
Proposals for this pilot had to include at least two of the following components:
- Majors organized into semester-by-semester sets of courses that lead to on-time completion.
- Degree based transfer pathways between participating institutions to assist students who enroll in multiple institutions to complete their degree
- Available meta majors to minimize the loss of credit due to changes by students in their degree majors
- Student commitment to a structured schedule of courses and electives
- Clear degree maps, proactive advising and guarantees that required courses are available when needed by students.
Institutions that submitted proposals and are participating in the Guided Pathways to Success Pilot Program:
- Metropolitan Community College
- North Central Missouri College
- Ozarks Technical Community College
- Southeast Missouri State University
- University of Missouri-Kansas City
The CBHE will report on the outcomes of the pilot program and provide a recommendation regarding its expansion statewide to the governor and general assembly by January 1, 2020.