Cuts to scholarships, University of Missouri programs take effect - Gregory Zajac, the Maneater

The $63 million in higher education program cuts ordered last month by Gov. Jay Nixon went into effect Thursday, and those reductions will affect how thousands of MU students pay for college. Nixon ordered $300 million in cuts to the state’s total budget to balance it in the face of falling tax revenues due to the economic downturn. More than one-fifth of those came from higher education funding, including scholarship programs. According to the Missouri Office of Administration, the Access Missouri scholarship, a need-based scholarship program, will lose $50 million of its $82.2 million in state funds. According to a document on the OA website, the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority will offset some of that, about $30 million, with a loan.