The speakers at the Mississippi State University faculty meeting discussed a few plans to improve MSU in upcoming years.
With reaccreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools approaching in 2014, MSU President Mark Keenum said he wants to be ready.
Part of the way Keenum said he intends to prepare is by putting into action a Quality Enhancement Plan for the professors.
The QEP is a plan that focuses on key learning issues of our MSU students and carefully designs learning opportunities that enhance student learning. The plan is partnered with the SACS reaffirmation process.
According to MSU’s website, the proposed QEP will be submitted during the 2014 SACS campus visit, and after approval it will be submitted as a five-year plan.  SACS will review the results at the fifth-year interim report in 2019.
MSU could also see an increase in tuition to match the growing number of students. Spring enrollment has already risen by 438 since last semester.  Keenum said an increase in tuition could be necessary to maintain the quality of education.
“We will increase tuition if we are not adequately funded by the state,” Keenum said. “We don’t want our academic quality to suffer.”
Provost Jerry Gilbert announced that another future goal of the university is to increase the number of faculty. 
Since student enrollment is continuing to rise, MSU also plans to increase its faculty accordingly.  The current student-to-faculty ratio is 20-to-1, but the target ratio to reach is 18-to-1 within the next few years.
Gilbert said MSU officials are not only looking to increase the number of faculty on staff, but the diversity of faculty, as well.
“We need to increase the diversity in our faculty, but we’re still after quality,” Gilbert said.  “We want quality pools with diverse candidates in them.”
MSU also will be implementing a program in an effort to help incoming freshmen better adjust to college life.  The program is called “Early Start,” and the plan is to bring in 150 freshmen early.  They will be able to move into residence halls and begin classes in the summer before the other students arrive.
The program will run from July 3 to Aug. 6 this summer.  The Early Start selection committee is already in the process of reviewing applicants.  Students will be able to take courses in fine arts, humanities, social and behavioral sciences, mathematics and statistics and natural sciences.
“We think it should take some pressure off during the fall semester, inspire an early connection to MSU, increase retention and help us to better connect with students,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert continued on the importance of student retention.  He said MSU plans to get involved before students fail, rather than holding off until it is too late. 
“We should intervene when students are on probation instead of waiting until they are on suspension,” he said.  “We can offer advising and special courses while it’s still early.”
The speakers also discussed the status of several ongoing projects.
David Shaw, vice president for research and economic development, said the Cotton Mills project is still continuing to develop.
“The project is very complex, but we’re continuing to move forward,” he said.
Upon completion, the Cotton Mill Marketplace project should include a mixed-use facility with residential opportunities, restaurants, retail, office space and a hotel/conference/meeting center.
MSU is continuing to grow and evolve through these different programs.
“We’re working hard to establish where we are and where we’re going as a university,” Shaw said.