Statement 
  from 
  University 
  of 
  Missouri-­‐Kansas 
  City 
  

At 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  Missouri-­‐Kansas 
  City, 
  we 
  are 
  committed 
  to 
  student 
  success 
  for 
  all 
  of 
  our 
  
students, 
  regardless 
  of 
  socioeconomic 
  status 
  or 
  any 
  other 
  factors. 
   
  
As 
  an 
  urban-­‐serving 
  public 
  university, 
  we 
  have 
  a 
  high 
  percentage 
  of 
  students, 
  57%, 
  who 
  fall 
  in 
  
the 
  FAFSA 
  high-­‐need 
  category 
  (EFC 
  less 
  than 
  $5,000). 
  Our 
  enrollment 
  of 
  Pell 
  students 
  is 
  42% 
  of 
  
our 
  total 
  undergraduate 
  enrollment. 
  Many 
  of 
  these 
  students 
  work 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  attending 
  
school, 
  and 
  many 
  are 
  also 
  parents. 
  These 
  factors 
  have 
  a 
  significant 
  influence 
  on 
  their 
  six-­‐year 
  
graduation 
  rate; 
  we 
  have 
  students 
  who 
  doggedly 
  pursue 
  college 
  degrees 
  for 
  longer 
  periods, 
  
against 
  significant 
  odds, 
  and 
  we 
  are 
  proud 
  of 
  their 
  efforts 
  and 
  do 
  all 
  we 
  can 
  to 
  support 
  them. 
  
For 
  example, 
  our 
  figures 
  for 
  students 
  who 
  start 
  here 
  as 
  freshmen 
  (not 
  counting 
  transfer 
  
students), 
  show 
  a 
  6-­‐year 
  graduation 
  rate 
  of 
  42% 
  for 
  Pell 
  students 
  who 
  started 
  as 
  freshmen 
  in 
  
2007, 
  but 
  that 
  figure 
  jumps 
  to 
  47% 
  for 
  Pell 
  students 
  graduating 
  within 
  8 
  years. 
   
   
  
It 
  also 
  should 
  be 
  noted 
  that 
  the 
  Education 
  Trust’s 
  decision 
  to 
  use 
  6-­‐year 
  graduation 
  figures 
  from 
  
2013 
  – 
  essentially 
  focusing 
  on 
  students 
  who 
  entered 
  as 
  freshmen 
  in 
  2007 
  – 
  puts 
  UMKC 
  at 
  a 
  
distinct 
  disadvantage 
  because 
  it 
  falls 
  within 
  a 
  three-­‐year 
  period 
  in 
  which 
  we 
  had 
  a 
  significant 
  
reduction 
  in 
  our 
  ability 
  to 
  financially 
  support 
  high-­‐need 
  students. 
  When 
  our 
  Pell 
  students 
  
benefitted 
  from 
  the 
  Federal 
  Family 
  Education 
  Loan 
  Program 
  (FFEL), 
  our 
  6-­‐year 
  graduation 
  rate 
  
for 
  Pell 
  students 
  was 
  higher 
  than 
  that 
  for 
  non-­‐Pell 
  students. 
  In 
  2005, 
  our 
  6-­‐year 
  graduation 
  rate 
  
for 
  Pell 
  students 
  was 
  55.2%; 
  in 
  2006 
  it 
  was 
  58.6%. 
  Rates 
  for 
  non-­‐Pell 
  students 
  were 
  40% 
  in 
  
2005; 
  in 
  2006 
  it 
  was 
  46%. 
  The 
  FFEL 
  program 
  suddenly 
  ended 
  in 
  2008, 
  so 
  students 
  who 
  started 
  
school 
  in 
  2007 
  with 
  full 
  support 
  were 
  suddenly 
  cut 
  off 
  from 
  a 
  significant 
  source 
  of 
  financial 
  aid. 
  
It 
  took 
  UMKC 
  three 
  years 
  to 
  come 
  up 
  with 
  alternative 
  funding 
  via 
  a 
  new, 
  locally 
  based 
  support 
  
program, 
  the 
  UMKC 
  Advantage 
  Grant. 
  That 
  program 
  started 
  with 
  students 
  entering 
  school 
  in 
  
2011, 
  so 
  there 
  are 
  no 
  6-­‐year 
  graduation 
  rates 
  available. 
   
   
  
We 
  have 
  invested 
  significant 
  effort 
  in 
  our 
  student 
  success 
  programs 
  in 
  recent 
  years, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  
beginning 
  to 
  pay 
  off. 
  Compared 
  to 
  many 
  comparable 
  urban-­‐serving 
  public 
  universities, 
  our 
  35% 
  
graduation 
  rate 
  for 
  Pell 
  students 
  is 
  higher, 
  but 
  our 
  58% 
  graduation 
  rate 
  for 
  non-­‐Pell 
  students 
  
shows 
  an 
  even 
  more 
  pronounced 
  difference. 
  We 
  are 
  not 
  satisfied 
  with 
  that 
  gap, 
  and 
  we 
  are 
  
investing 
  more 
  resources 
  in 
  our 
  student 
  success 
  programs 
  in 
  an 
  effort 
  to 
  narrow 
  that 
  gap. 
  
These 
  include 
  the 
  UMKC 
  Advantage 
  Grant 
  program, 
  which 
  essentially 
  allows 
  all 
  Pell-­‐eligible 
  
students 
  to 
  attend 
  UMKC 
  on 
  a 
  tuition-­‐free 
  basis; 
  an 
  intensive 
  advising 
  program 
  providing 
  
individualized 
  education 
  plans; 
  and 
  a 
  University 
  College 
  allowing 
  incoming 
  freshmen 
  unsure 
  
about 
  a 
  major 
  to 
  explore 
  a 
  variety 
  of 
  potential 
  fields 
  while 
  earning 
  general 
  education 
  credits. 
  
More 
  than 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  University 
  College 
  students 
  receive 
  Pell 
  grants. 
  As 
  a 
  result, 
  persistence 
  
into 
  Year 
  2 
  for 
  undeclared, 
  Pell-­‐eligible 
  entering 
  freshmen 
  at 
  UMKC 
  has 
  increased 
  from 
  46.5% 
  
in 
  2009 
  to 
  76.7% 
  in 
  2014. 
   
  
 
  
Update 
  9/25/2014: 
  

 University 
  of 
  Missouri-­‐Kansas 
  City 
  provided 
  ProPublica 
  with 
  an 
  updated 
  statement 
  clarifying 
  a 
  data 
  
point. 
  The 
  percentage 
  of 
  Pell 
  grant 
  recipients 
  at 
  UMKC 
  is 
  42 
  percent, 
  not 
  36 
  percent 
  as 
  previously 
  
stated.