College of the Ozarks:
A Mission that Works
Is it possible to graduate from college without paying tuition? Yes, if you attend the College of the Ozarks. C of O is a fully accredited, four-year, liberal arts college that charges no tuition to its students. Ninety percent of the students must demonstrate financial need in order to be admitted and each full time student works 15 hours a week at a campus job to help pay his or her tuition. Remaining costs are covered by contributions to the school. This system of "earn as you learn" has been in place for nearly a century.
In 1901 the Reverend James Forsythe traveled to the White River valley to serve as a missionary. Many things about the area surprised him: the poverty, poor living conditions, and primitive travel. But what shocked him most was the lack of educational opportunity. High schools were few and far between and most teenagers had to go to work instead of school. Attendance was erratic due to weather and
transportation difficulties. Teachers were poorly trained. Taney County's educational system was greatly underdeveloped. Rev. Forsythe became convinced that the Presbyterian church could help fund a better school. He wrote many letters to church officials pleading his case. In 1902 Forsythe wrote,
Once again I am petitioning the Synod for help to fund a school here in the Ozarks . . . The primary object of such a school should be to offer the best intellectual training under the best possible moral and Christian auspices . . . advantages . . . could be offered to both boys and girls who are deserving but yet financially unable to secure an education. (Godsey 40)
The Presbytery listened and, in 1905, voted to establish a school. Land was acquired in Forsyth, MO, and construction began in 1906. On November 19, 1906 the school was officially chartered as The School of the Ozarks whose purpose was "to provide the advantages of a Christian education for youth of both sexes, especially for those found worthy, but who are without sufficient means to procure such training" (Godsey 100). Classes began September 24, 1907 with 128 students, 16 of whom were boarding students (Godsey 131).
All members of the S of O family were expected to work. Students and faculty were responsible for farming, food preparation, cleaning, and all of the other work on campus. Wood had to be chopped for stoves, fields plowed, and laundry washed. The work and class schedule was challenging but the opportunity for an education was felt to be worth it by most students.
S of O suffered a great loss on January 14, 1915 when the classroom building burned. Very little was left to salvage. But an opportunity did present itself. A farm near Hollister, Missouri, was available for purchase. Located on the farm was the exhibition building from the state of Maine built for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. A hunting and fishing club had used the building for their lodge but had financial difficulties and were willing to sell for a low price (Godsey 213). So, the School of the Ozarks moved from Forsyth to Point Lookout, two miles south of Branson.
The school's move to Point Lookout proved to be a good one. Both the campus and the enrollment grew and many more underprivileged youth were educated. Finding the funds to run the school proved to be challenging, particularly during the depression, but somehow the money was always there.
As universal education became a part of the American culture, administrators at S of O found there was less need for a boarding high school and more need for a college. Under the leadership of President M. Graham Clark, the school enrolled its first students in its newly organized junior college in 1956. For the next ten years, high school and junior college coexisted on campus. In 1966, the junior college was expanded to a four-year program. The 1967 graduation ceremonies were momentous because the last high school class and the first four-year college class were graduated. From that point S of O was strictly a four-year college and in 1990, changed its name to the College of the Ozarks to better reflect that mission.
C of O has received much publicity and many honors for its unique mission. The college is frequently named to lists of "best buys" and best area colleges. Today there are 1500 students enrolled who take an average of fifteen hours per semester while working at a campus job. That job might be milking cows, flying a plane, checking out books in the library, or mopping the floor. Degrees are offered in areas ranging from English to Agri-Business. Whatever the job or the major, C of O students receive a quality education, gain valuable work and time management skills, and graduate without paying a penny of tuition.
Works Cited
Godsey, Helen and Townsend. Flight of the Phoenix: the Biography of the School of The Ozarks: a Unique American College. Point Lookout, MO: School of the Ozarks P, 1984.
Photographs of the college and Rev. James Forsythe, Lyons Memorial Library, College of the Ozarks
