Dive Brief:

• Missouri Western State University and Northwest Missouri State University have taken different approaches to Gov. Jay Nixon’s announcement that he will withhold funds based on a performance funding model.
• Missouri Western passed a 2014-15 budget Thursday reflecting a decrease of $645,000 related to Nixon’s announcement, the St. Joseph News-Press reported. Meanwhile, Northwest Missouri’s budget, also approved on Thursday, includes the funds that Nixon said he will withhold.
• A spokesman for Northwest Missouri said the university’s board of regents could revisit the issue later, if necessary. The board had decided in March that if the funding did not ultimately arrive, it would increase undergraduate tuition 1.5%.

Dive Insight:

At Missouri Western, the budget includes a 1.74% tuition increase for in-state undergraduate students and a 2% raise for faculty and staff. The school had frozen tuition for four of the previous 10 years, and its president expressed hope that the governor would release the withheld funds after a September legislative session. Northwest’s budget has no increase to undergraduate tuition, and funding for academic success coaches, an international recruiter, and a web content specialist.