HB 1497 -- DEGREES OF PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES

SPONSOR: Griffith

This bill relates to the authority to confer degrees at public institutions of higher education.

The bill repeals the following provisions:

(1) The University of Missouri shall be the state’s only public research university and the exclusive grantor of research doctorates and first-professional degrees, including dentistry, law, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine (Section 172.280 RSMo);

(2) Degrees in podiatry and chiropractic and osteopathic medicine may be conferred only by the University of Missouri or by a public institution of higher education in collaboration with the University of Missouri, with the University of Missouri being the degree-granting institution, unless the University of Missouri declines to collaborate with such institution (Section 173.005); and

(3) Degrees in engineering may be conferred only by the University of Missouri or by a public institution of higher education in collaboration with the University of Missouri, with the University of Missouri being the degree-granting institution, unless the University of Missouri declines to collaborate with such institution (Section 174.160).

This bill is the same as HB 1189 from 2023.

Statutes affected:
Introduced (3648H.01): 172.280, 173.005, 173.030, 173.040, 173.616, 173.750, 174.160, 174.231, 174.251, 174.310