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Congresman Kenny Hulshof was in Springfield Friday to give details on how he would revamp Missouri's higher education programs if he's elected governor seven weeks from now. KSMU's Jennifer Moore was there and has details.
Speaking to an audience of college students and journalists at Missouri State University, the Republican candidate says his plan is four-fold, starting with expanding needs-based scholarships.
Hulshof fell short of defining the criteria that would determine who receives a needs-based scholarship, and says he has not yet set a cap on family income level of students eligible for those scholarships.
Another tier of his plan is called the Missouri Prosperity Initiative, and it focuses on the quality of education students receive: through this plan, Hulshof is proposing to give state money to universities who partner up with private businesses for educational projects. He says this partnership between private businesses and universities would strengthen current degree programs in biotechnology, engineering, math and chemistry.
To participate in these educational projects, businesses would be required to provide a 2-to-1 match of funds.
The Republican Congressman also said he's committed to a funding formula for higher education that will increase with the rate of inflation, plus two percent.
Lastly, Hulshof said he intends to hold colleges and universities to a high standard of transparency.
Hulshof is running against Democratic candidate Jay Nixon, who is currently Missouri's Attorney General.
Nixon's campaign spokesperson, Oren Shur, says his candidate's plan contrasts with Hulshof's in that it focuses less on beefing up the actual degree programs, and focuses more on affordability.
Nixon's higher education plan aims to revamp the state's A-plus program, to where it would allow any student coming from a household income of roughly 80 thousand dollars or less to attend a community college for the first two years tuition-free, and then finish with a four year degree at a state school.
Critics of Nixon's plan say its projected cost is unrealistic, and that while it focuses on getting kids through college, it does not focus enough on the quality of education those students are receiving.
For KSMU News, I'm Jennifer Moore.
