COLUMBIA — The MU Faculty Council heard a motion Thursday afternoon to discontinue the MU in the Evening program as a separate degree program and incorporate it into the traditional education structure at the university.
MU in the Evening is a program that allows people to finish or start their bachelor's degree with other working adults. Students earn a bachelor of general studies and are allowed to take classes from whatever field they choose.
The evening program was started for MU staff that wanted college course options. According to J. Wilson Watt, an associate professor in the School of Social Work, the focal group is gone. Almost all of the staff have gone through MU in the Evening or earned their degree some other way, Watt said.
"This isn't the right mode anymore," Watt said. The review committee established to examine the program agreed MU in the Evening was no longer serving the need.
The review committee found that the evening program is viewed by the public as a second-rate option to a conventional MU degree. Watt referred to it as "MU lite."
Even the human resources department at MU wouldn't accept applicants with MU in the Evening degrees, Watt said. MU spokesman Christian Basi clarified on Friday that MU does accept degrees from the evening program.
He was also quick to say this does not mean night programs are going away. The motion would simply integrate the program to the core campus educational structure.
The motion is the result of research and discussion between all the departments and the provost's office. The council will vote on the motion when it reconvenes in January.
The council also discussed the motion to have nontenure track faculty serve on campus-standing committees. The issue was raised at the last meeting and the council voted unanimously Thursday to allow it.
The council also talked about: