Modifies provisions relating to the authority to confer degrees at public institutions of higher education

HB 616 restructures Missouri's public higher education governance by replacing the Commission on Higher Education with a new Coordinating Board for Higher Education. The bill designates the University of Missouri as the exclusive grantor of research doctorates (like PhDs) and first-professional degrees (such as law, medicine, and veterinary medicine), while requiring other public institutions to collaborate with it for these programs. The Coordinating Board gains authority to approve new degree programs, establish admission guidelines, and require institutions to adopt effective remediation practices. This directly affects all Missouri public colleges and universities by centralizing oversight of degree offerings and institutional planning. The changes aim to standardize higher education coordination across the state's public system.