The Truman State University Board of Governors met Oct. 24 for its regular bimonthly meeting, during which the board discussed the annual audit and heard from University President Sue Thomas.
Brent Stevens, partner with accounting firm RubinBrown LLP, presented the findings of the University’s annual audit. The University’s tuition and fees decreased by $2.1 million since 2019. This decrease is due to enrollment declining 576 students to 4,655. Salaries and wages of University staff decreased $1.3 million due to reductions. The audit found that state appropriations were the biggest source of revenue for the University, with $35.4 million in 2020. Stevens said the audit went smoothly.
After Stevens presented the findings of the audit, Thomas spoke. She talked about how the University is handling the COVID-19 pandemic, and she said she is very proud of how the University has come together during this time. Thomas said according to contact tracing done by the University, no student has contracted COVID-19 from a classroom setting.
Thomas announced the winner of the 2020 Top Dog Challenge event, for which Truman competed against the University of Indianapolis to see who could raise the most money for charity. Truman won the competition with over $7,800 raised.
After Thomas spoke, the Board heard a proposed resolution for Truman to add a Master of Arts in gifted education to its curriculum. This graduate program would allow participants to earn their master’s in gifted education. The program would be entirely online, with 30 credits required to earn the degree. Eleven three-credit-hour courses are available in the proposed resolution. The resolution was passed unanimously.
This story has been updated from its original publication, previously stating 24 credits were required to earn the Masters of Arts in gifted education. The program takes existing certification requirements equaling 24 credits and adds two additional courses for a total of 30 to make a full master’s degree.