The Lincoln University Board of Curators approved changes to the university's work-study program and dual-credit tuition rate during its meeting Thursday.
The board also accepted the findings of its most recent financial audit conducted by Springfield-based accounting firm BKD, which affirmed their financial reports were in compliance with Government Auditing Standards.
Changes to LU's work-study program will expand the number of hours students can work on campus to help pay off their debt directly to the university, targeting those who have an outstanding balance of $1,300 or higher.
LU Chief Financial Officer Sandy Koetting said university officials are working through logistics on how to ensure the earnings would come back to the university, but it would help diminish the number of students who have to work off campus.
The university currently pays work-study students minimum wage with a cap at 20 hours per week.
Koetting also proposed a dual-enrolled student tuition rate of $150 per credit hour, which the board approved. Currently students are charged $209 per credit hour plus fees.
Dual-credit high school students, who take college-level courses to fulfill both high school and college requirements, pay $75 per credit hour. These classes are taught by high school teachers certified to teach dual-credit courses, meeting the criteria of an adjunct instructor.
Other dual-enrolled students are those who enroll in classes taught by LU professors that are not available at their home school.
"This pool of students is much smaller, but we want to establish a rate for the dual-enrolled student in hopes we can create a solid per-credit-hour rate and use it to market this opportunity," Koetting said.
Approximately 500 students are classified as dual-credit students.
Curator Greg Gaffke also gave an update on LU's presidential search, noting they have narrowed the pool from 150 candidates to 11.
They plan to consider those candidates by Dec. 6.
"The candidates come from a variety of backgrounds, some with extensive experience and others at the beginning of their career," Gaffke said.
They plan to interview the finalists in late January with the goal to have someone in office by April in time for the president's gala, he said.