City: Branson, MO

Category: Education

Telephone: (417) 895-7000

Address: 933 East Central

Description: Founded in 1990 to provide technical education for area students, the OTC district encompasses eight counties in the immediate Springfield area, including Stone and Christian Counties. It provides high school technical programs, customized training, continuing education, adult basic education, and college credit courses leading to an associate degree. The college, with its motto of “Learn a Living,” has met with enthusiastic success and growth. Its enrollment has jumped from 1,198 in 1991, its first semester, to 10,249 in 2009. That growth has made it the third-largest community college in Missouri and the second-largest higher education institution in Springfield. Its main campus is at the corner of Chestnut Expressway and National Avenue. As one of the fastest-growing colleges in the nation, OTC has added campuses in Lebanon, Waynesville, Ozark, and Branson. The college offers an associate of applied science degree, one-year certificates in a variety of technical programs, and a two-year associate of arts degree. It has a full-time faculty of 140, with an additional 400 continuing-education instructors and part-time faculty. Tuition is $78 per credit hour for in-district residents, $108 for out-of-district residents, and $140.50 for out-of-state students. Financial aid by federal Pell Grants and guaranteed student loans are available, as well as other scholarship and financial aid packages.