City: Branson, MO

Category: Education

Telephone: (417) 334-6411, (800) 222-0525

Description: College of the Ozarks is the only college in the immediate Branson area. Founded in 1906 at Forsyth as the School of the Ozarks by the Reverend James Forsythe, a Presbyterian minister, the college evolved from the original Forsyth boarding grade school and high school. Now located 2 miles south of Branson on US 65 at Point Lookout, on a high bluff overlooking Lake Taneycomo, the beautiful 1,000-acre campus with its manicured grounds makes an impression on visitors. Its president, Dr. Jerry Davis, has said “image is everything,” and the campus and the fact that students work to pay for their tuition make the college attractive to donors. Recent speakers on the campus—Oliver North, Ralph Reed, William Bennett, Gerald Ford, Dan Quayle, Margaret Thatcher, and Elizabeth Dole—indicate the intent, bent, and balance of its philosophy. Enrollment is capped at 1,500, and the college’s endowment of more than $240.1 million makes it one of the wealthiest colleges in the nation. It has 88 full-time faculty, and more than 40 percent hold terminal degrees. Fifty percent of entering freshmen have an ACT score of 20 or above. The college offers both bachelor of arts and bachelor of sciences degrees. Because students pay as they learn with their work, the college has been listed several times in national publications as a best-value school and a college at which students have low debt loads upon graduation. After the epithet “Hard Work U” was used in a Wall Street Journal article about the college, the college adopted it as an unofficial motto. Notable alumni include ABC news reporter Erin Hayes, Missouri state senator Doyle Childers, actor and director Jerry Tracy, and opera singer Meredith Mizell.A special commitment of College of the Ozarks is to serve the youth of the Ozarks region. The founding charter commits the college to serving “especially those found worthy but who are without sufficient means to procure such training.” This commitment is reflected in the policy that 90 percent of each entering class is limited to students whose families would have a difficult time financing a college education. The remaining 10 percent are primarily children of alumni or employees, athletic scholarship recipients, and a few international students. The college guarantees to meet the cost of education for the full-time students; that is, all costs of the educational program (instruction, operating costs, etc.), a figure estimated at about $10,000. The college requires that all students apply for any state and federal grants using Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The student’s combined state and federal grant money, plus wages from work at an assigned campus job, pays for tuition. Students work 15 hours a week during the academic year plus two 40-hour weeks when school is not in session. Jobs include everything from A to Z: from airport work to zoology. In between are positions at the dairy, greenhouse, and academic offices. Room and board and incidental fees ($2,650 per year) as well as book costs (about $500 per year) are generally paid by the student, but room-and-board scholarships allow students to meet that cost by working 12- to 40-hour weeks during the summer.Although primarily a residential college, College of the Ozarks admits a limited number of commuting students from the surrounding area. Part-time commuters (11 hours or less) pay $250 per credit hour toward the cost of education, with the remaining costs met by various grants and the institutional scholarship. The college does not allow students to obtain principal-delayed federal loans. However, private educational loans are available to credit-worthy students at approximately 8.5 percent interest. The minimum loan is $1,000, the maximum is $7,500, and repayment begins immediately after the loan is obtained. The 1,500 students, most of whom work a second job on The Strip in addition to their campus work assignment, are an important addition to the area’s employment scene. The bright-eyed and eager young man or woman who serves you your dinner, takes your ticket, parks your car, or dips your ice cream for your after-show snack might very well be a local college student.