Peer Group

Since 1995, Missouri State University has been a member of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU). Selection of the CUMU as MSU’s peer group is a logical fit with our statewide mission in public affairs.

CUMU defines members as follows:

• Universities located in cities and in the surrounding metropolitan areas have been key players in this revitalization, and will play an even greater role in the future.
• As anchor institutions, they are major employers and developers, they stimulate and nurture new economic enterprises, they build the workforce and they enrich the cultural life of America’s cities.
• They partner with government, community organizations, health care systems, public schools, not-for-profit civic groups and others to address the needs of urban residents, provide vital services and strengthen their host city’s social fabric. 
• They also draw on the rich array of business, governmental, cultural and civic institutions located in urban areas to expand student learning and enhance research opportunities for faculty and students.
• Their community engagement enriches metropolitan communities while strengthening the universities’ core commitment to teaching and research. 

This set of CUMU institutions will be used as a benchmark cohort for comparing our performance in a variety of categories over the next few years and is the established peer group benchmark for sustained excellence for the State of Missouri’s Performance Funding Model.