August 25, 2017

MU Chancellor Alexander Cartwright announced a new financial aid package that provides full tuition and fees for Missouri Pell Grant recipients at Jesse Hall on Thursday.

“We know that this award is going to have a significant impact on our state,” Cartwright said. “Today we take a great step forward with this investment in our students.”

The Missouri Land Grant offers full tuition and fees for Pell-eligible students, and the Missouri Land Grant Honors offers tuition, fees, books and room and board for students enrolled in the Honors College, according to a news release.

Both grants are available for first-time MU students, either college freshmen or transfers.
At the event, Cartwright expressed how important it is to have affordable education.

“I certainly would not be standing here today if not for financial aid,” he said.

When Cartwright first moved to the United States, he enrolled in a community college and continued his education at a university. He explained how financial aid helped him cover the costs while also working full-time.

Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Pelema Morrice, who also signed the grant, said it will benefit all Missourians.

“The citizens of Missouri want and deserve a high-quality education so that they can work and thrive in the state that they know and love,” Morrice said. “College affordability is an important aspect of that equation.”

According to Nick Prewett, Executive Director of the Office of Student Financial Aid, the grant will affect over 3,500 students. Prewett helped formulate the process for the grant’s final product by collecting and analysing data to ensure it benefits the most amount of students possible. He had been working on this since February, he said.

“The grants use a combination of federal, state, and institutional resources to meet the cost of tuition and fees at Mizzou,” according to a Q&A provided by the MU News Bureau.

The grant will offer “competitive, affordable education for Missouri,” according to an email sent out by the Office of the Chancellor on Tuesday informing the campus community about the event.

The compact is named in recognition of the university’s land grant status. In 1839, citizens of Boone County pooled their money and land together to establish the first public university west of the Mississippi River, and in 1870, MU was awarded land-grant status through the Morrill Act.

Since then, Cartwright said, MU has been “bettering lives” of students and faculty.

“Today we are investing in Missouri,” Cartwright said.

Cartwright said this expansion reaffirms the university’s pledge to offer affordable education to Missourians.

MSA Vice President Payton Englert, who spoke at the event, said higher education and financial aid can change lives. She called the signing of the grant a “historic announcement” and thanked both Cartwright and Morrice, along with the administration, for working to develop it.

“The Missouri Land Grant is something that will make the Mizzou degree more accessible for some of our fellow and future students,” Englert said.

_Edited by Olivia Garrett | ogarrett@themaneater.com_

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