Southeast Missouri State University College Portrait

Test(s) Required for Admission: SAT or ACT recommended

50% of admitted students have test scores within the ranges listed, 25% have scores above, and 25% have scores below.

Typical Undergraduate Costs for 2010-11 without Financial Aid (Full-Time, In-State Students)

Total Typical Cost of Attendance: $18,697.00

The cost to attend Southeast Missouri State University varies based on the individual circumstances of students and may be reduced through grants and scholarships.

How much would I pay?

Financial Aid: How much help is there to pay?

Scholarships & Grants

• 55% of 2010-11 full-time undergraduates received need-based grants or scholarships; the average award for the year was $3,580.00. Scholarships and grants are financial aid that does not need to be repaid and is sometimes referred to as gift aid.

Annual Need-Based Loans

• 72% of 2010-11 full-time undergraduates received need-based work-study and/or loans (not including parent loans); the average loan for the year was $3,911.00. Loans need to be repaid. Typically, repayment starts once you are no longer enrolled full-time. Please refer to page 12 of the Funding Education Beyond High School guide on the US Department of Education's Federal Student Aid website for more information about Financial Need.

Percent of 2010 Full-time Beginning Students Receiving Each Type of Financial Aid

NOTE: Students may receive aid from more than one source.

69% of new freshmen live in campus-based housing or residence halls.
33% of all undergraduates live on campus

Southeast Missouri State University has been ranked as the safest public four-year university in Missouri by StateUniversity.com, the leading website for college information. The Department of Public Safety is fully staffed by commissioned, professional police officers and is open 24 hours a day seven days a week. Southeast provides a Student Watch & Escort Service, a campus shuttle system, lighted corridors with emergency call boxes throughout the campus, an outdoor warning system and various other avenues to communicate emergency information to students. External residence hall doors are locked 24-hours a day and a 24-hour desk is staffed in the Towers Complex and in Vandiver Hall.

The Carnegie Classification's were created "to reference the great diversity of colleges and universities in the United States, and ... enable [people] to identify groups of roughly comparable institutions." For information on the Carnegie Classifications system, please visit their website: http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/

Basic Type

Master's Colleges and Universities (larger programs)

Size and Setting

Medium four-year, primarily residential

Enrollment Profile

Very high undergraduate

Undergraduate Profile

Full-time four-year, selective, higher transfer-in

Undergraduate Instructional Program

Professions plus arts & sciences, some graduate coexistence

Graduate Instructional Program

Postbaccalaureate with arts & sciences (education dominant)

NOTE: Institutional classifications based on the Carnegie 2005 edition.

Students who are actively involved in their own learning and development are more likely to be successful in college. Colleges and universities offer students a wide variety of opportunities both inside and outside the classroom to become engaged with new ideas, people, and experiences. Institutions measure the effectiveness of these opportunities in a variety of ways to better understand what types of activities and programs students find the most helpful.

Institutions participating in the VSA program measure student involvement on campus using one of four national surveys. Results from the one survey are reported for a common set of questions selected as part of VSA. Following are the selected results from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The questions have been grouped together in categories that are known to contribute to student learning and development. The results reported below are based on the responses of seniors who participated in the survey.

Group Learning Experiences

• 91.0% percent of seniors worked with classmates on assignments outside of class.
• 54.0% of seniors tutored or taught other students
• 26.0% of seniors spent at least 6 hours per week participating in co-curricular activities such as student organizations and intramural sports

Active Learning Experiences

• 79.0% of seniors spent at least 6 hours per week preparing for class
• 17.0% of seniors worked on a research project with a faculty member
• 51.0% of seniors participated in an internship, practicum, or field experience
• 59.0% of seniors participated in community service or volunteer work
• 11.0% of seniors participated in study abroad
• 95.0% of seniors made at least one class presentation last year

Institutional Commitment to Student Learning and Success

• 97.0% of seniors believe this institution provides support for student success
• 73.0% of seniors rated the quality of academic advising at this institution as good or excellent
• 66.0% of seniors reported that this institution provided help in coping with work, family and other non-academic responsibilities
• 96.0% of seniors reported working harder than they thought they could to meet an instructor's standards or expectations

Student Interaction with Campus Faculty and Staff

• 59.0% of seniors believed that the campus staff were helpful, considerate, or flexible
• 82.0% of seniors believed that faculty are available, helpful, or sympathetic
• 98.0% of seniors reported that faculty members provided prompt feedback on their academic performance
• 72.0% of seniors discussed readings or ideas with faculty members outside of class

Experiences with Diverse Groups of People and Ideas

• 64.0% of seniors reported that they often tried to understand someone else's point of view
• 90.0% of seniors reported their experience at this institution contributed to their understanding people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds
• 48.0% of seniors often had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity

Student Satisfaction

• 78.0% of seniors would attend this institution if they started over again
• 81.0% of seniors rated their entire educational experience as good or excellent
• 82.0% of seniors reported that other students were friendly or supportive

A 77% four-year success and progress rate means that 77% of students starting in Fall 2005 either graduated or are still enrolled at a higher education institution four years later.

Counts for the Fall 2005 entering class shown in the graph above.

• 1,544 First-Time, Full-Time Students
• 670 Full-Time Transfer Students

First-time students in Fall 2010 that returned for their second year: 71%

All colleges and universities use multiple approaches to measure student learning. Many of these are specific to particular disciplines, many are coordinated with accrediting agencies, and many are based on outcomes after students have graduated.

Southeast Missouri State University assesses students learning at both University and department levels throughout out their enrollment. A nationally recognized writing outcomes program evaluates student writing at three points in their course of study using holistically scored writing samples (http://ustudies.semo.edu/writing/wap.asp) . Students must demonstrate writing proficiency to graduate.  The Measure of Academic Proficiency and Progress (MAPP) test is used to assess student competency in four core areas: critical thinking, reading, writing and mathematics. All incoming and graduating students complete all sections of the standard form (starting in academic year 09/10.) Each instructional unit files a tri-annual student learning outcomes report. In this report, the unit presents a detailed assessment plan including specific student learning outcome goals established by faculty in the discipline. These include both disciplines specific and general education goals. The plan also outlines the multiple methods of assessment that are used to measure these goals. In addition to the University measures, multiple disciplines specific measures are used. These include national and locally developed tests, licensure tests, internship/practicum reports, alumni, student and employer surveys, capstone projects, publication, presentation at professional meetings, and performance based evaluations. Some of the performance based measures, for example the Department of Art, are evaluated by external experts. External tests include NCLEX (nursing), PRAXIS (education), MFAT, Registration Examination for Dietitians, Certified Manufacturing Technologist Examination, NESPA (Speech Pathology), Comprehensive Professional Counseling Exam, CPA (Certified Public Accountant Exam), ACS (Chemistry), and ATAG (Accounting). The report contains data from all of the measures which is then analyzed and conclusions are formed on student progress on each goal. Finally, the unit is expected to demonstrate how it has used results from assessment to improve student learning and/or percent plans for future actions. These reports are reviewed by the appropriate academic Dean and then evaluated by the University Assessment Review Committee which reports its findings to the Provost. A number of programs are nationally accredited by discipline specific agencies some of which are have defined assessment requirements. For example, units within the College of Education must provide assessment data that shows their students meet Missouri Standards for Teacher Education Programs (MoSTEP) as well as respond to the NCATE mandate that they have processes that collect and analyze data on the performance of candidates and graduates. Units accredited by ABET (Computer Information Systems, Engineering Physics, and Engineering Technology), which accredits programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology, must engage in assessment programs that provide data to respond to the ABET evaluation criteria of the discipline. The units in the College of Business must engage in assessment practices to address the Assurance of Learning standards of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Colleges and universities participating in the College Portrait measure the typical improvement in students' abilities to think, reason, and write using one of three tests. This is part of a pilot project to better understand and compare what students learn between their freshman and senior years at different colleges and universities.

This university is in the process of collecting and analyzing learning outcomes test results.