It was once a rumor for months. Murmurs of a tuition increase and an increase of fees spread across the media like wildfire.

“The University of Missouri plans to raise tuition,” they said. “Curators prepare for a hike in tuition.”

However, what many Missouri residents and students don’t realize or know is how tuition increases are decided and who decides them. Who is this Board of Curators that the media speaks of?

Before I begin to explore this question, I’d like to first give a little history. As you may well already be aware, the University of Missouri is a system of four schools that began as a single university in1839 in Columbia. Throughout its history, it has added three campuses and grew to become one of the largest and most prestigious public research universities in the United States with more than 70,000 students enrolled.

Throughout all of this change and expansion, one thing has remained relatively constant – the governing board. The governing board of the University of Missouri System is known as the Board of Curators. It is a nine voting member board with a curator representing each of the nine congressional districts of Missouri. These curators are appointed by the governor of Missouri with the advice and consent of the Missouri Senate for a term of six years. In addition to the nine Curators, there is also a non-voting student representative to the board who is selected for a two year term which rotates among the four campuses. The current representative is a student from Missouri S&T whose term expires in January, when the Governor will appoint a new student from UMKC.

Although its composition and size has changed over the years, the mission and purpose of the Board of Curators has not. Its purpose is to govern the University of Missouri System through such activities such as setting and clarifying the mission and purpose of the University, setting tuition and fees, hiring staff and faculty, and making financing decisions regarding construction projects, just to name a few. They meet every few months to discuss the main issues concerning the University and to make decisions regarding these issues. The most recent meeting of the Curators had centered on setting the tuition rates for the next academic year.

Board of Curators meetings are open to the public and can be attended by anyone including students. The next meeting of the Board of Curators will be at the Missouri S&T campus on March 21 and March 22 in the Havener Center. For more information regarding the Board of Curator meetings, you can visit the UM System website.

So what does this all mean to you? What all students should take away from this article is the importance of the Board of Curators. Students should also realize the impact that the curators have upon the students and this great university system. As a student, you should know what the curators are doing, why they are doing it, and what it means for you and your future. I encourage you to be proactive, make your voice heard, make your presence known, and fight for what you believe in not only in regard to the University, but everything else as well.