More MNU News

Serving Tornado Victims

MNU students assisting tornado victims in Joplin, Mo., piled in a bus and various cars for an impromptu day-long mission trip just days after the F-5 tornado hit that town in May. Clearing brush and rubble, the team joined other Kansas City District Church of the Nazarene constituents who wanted to assist the residents of Joplin. Another mission team of students from Uphaus Hall residence hall returned to the area in October to continue work there.

Additionally, MNU donated 22 computers to an effort by ArtsTech KC to collect and refurbish PCs to donate to Joplin area tornado victims. The 12 desktop computers and 10 laptops had come to the end of their lifecycle at MNU, but can still be utilized by individuals and organizations in need.

Interested in helping tornado victims? Contact the MNU ServiceCorps at {ml0}

Students Get Innovative

Yorton Clark, EdD, professor of business, reports that the Human Resource Management class is presenting FDIC “Money Matters” training sessions at the Lansing Correctional Facility in November. These training courses are a part of the Re-Entry program for the inmates’ transition to successful community living.  This program makes a major impact on the success of the inmates, and on the perspective of the students. 

The Sports Management majors in the business department are coordinating and facilitating an activity called “Challenge Day” for the Shawnee Mission School District on Nov. 15 and the Olathe School District on Nov. 17.  Students, parents and teachers attended these events in the Cook Center Gym. 

Military Tuition Rate for Bachelor’s Degree Completion Programs

A new military per-credit-hour rate for accelerated bachelor’s degree completion programs should help active military and active reserve members access an education at MNU. Qualified military personnel will pay $250 per credit hour, a savings of more than 30 percent. University officials believe the move demonstrates a significant commitment to making a bachelor’s degree more accessible to service members.

“Lowering our tuition rate demonstrates our commitment to service members,” says Dr. Stephen Ragan, vice president for academic affairs. “Cutting tuition by 30 to 50 percent is a strong statement about the level of our commitment.”

Having served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, Ragan understands the challenges military personnel can encounter when trying to obtain higher education. He and Graduate and Adult Studies admissions director Kenny Merschbrock, who served in the Army during the first Gulf War, spearheaded MNU’s effort to become a Servicemember Opportunity College (SOC) certified institution. Merschbrock considers the move a way to honor service members in recognition of their service to the United States.

“We recognize that our troops serve in often dangerous environments with less compensation than they might have in private life,” Merschbrock states. “Because military personnel frequently move, it makes it very difficult to complete a degree. MNU and the SOC association have agreed to work together to make it easier for service members to enroll in college programs by simplifying credit transfers.”

MNU will work to seek feedback from active service members to ensure that the university is continually working to improve their experience, but for the time being Merschbrock says MNU has officially become a “Military Friendly Institution.”

Current programs at MNU that qualify for the special rate include the Bachelor of Business Administration, the Bachelor of Arts in Management and Human Relations, the Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration and the RN-BSN program. All programs are accelerated and can be completed in as little as one year to eighteen months. In addition, the public administration major is completed 90 percent online, and the RN-BSN is offered 100 percent online, adding another level of convenience for the service member.

For more information on the military tuition rate and programs at MNU contact Graduate and Adult Studies Admissions at (913) 971-3277.

MNU Online Tutoring Solves Late-Night Homework Woes

Students who get stuck on a calculus problem late at night no longer have to wait until morning to get help on their assignments. Writers who prefer a more qualified proofreader than their roommates now have another option. MNU is now offering online tutoring to all students free of charge. Accessed directly from the MNU portal, Smarthinking allows students to access live tutoring, or post questions and submit papers for later response. Some subjects, such as math and writing, offer 24/7 assistance while other subjects have scheduled times available each day.

Most e-structors, as Smarthinking tutors are called, have master’s or doctoral degrees and are subject area experts with an average of nine years experience in teaching at the college level. E-structors are supervised by educational professionals who are subject-matter experts and must go through an extensive evaluation and training program before they are chosen to work with students, according to Graduate and Adult Center for Learning Terry Gunter, EdD.

MNU will continue to offer in-person tutoring service through its Kresge Center, but Gunter thinks online tutoring will be very popular with students.

“Smarthinking will allow us to offer a much wider range of subject area tutoring,” Gunter says. “We are also greatly expanding the hours tutoring is available. This service will be a great help to all our student groups from associate’s to graduate students.”

For more information about Smarthinking online tutoring at MNU contact the Graduate and Adult Center for Learning at (913) 971-3778.