College of the Ozarks is located at Point Lookout near Hollister and Branson in Missouri. The campus has an area of 1,000-acre (400 ha) overlooking Lake Taneycomo. The college offers 30 academic majors and degrees in Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts. It has a population of 1,500 students with a student-to-faculty ratio of 16:1. College of the Ozarks offers no charge to tuition for full-time students due to its donations and student programs. The college programs require students to work each week for 15 hours. It also offers students a summer work program to cover costs for room and board.
The school was established in 1906 and founded by a Presbyterian missionary James Forsyth to provide education for youths who are worthy but without sufficient means to go to college. The school was opened on September 12, 1907 in a building atop Mount Huggins. Its first school term had an enrollment of 180 students with 36 boarders. On January 12, 1915, the building burned and school was temporarily held in Forsyth with only five students graduated in 1915.
The school then relocated in the White River at Point Lookout, Missouri on 16-acre campus. By 1950s, the school changed and the campus expanded to 1,000 acres, and the Gothic chapel was built and a hospital was added. High schools had increased in population in 1956 and the school became a junior college. By 1965, it became a four-year college and in 1990 it was named College of the Ozarks. Today, College of the Ozarks is a college of liberal arts that offers over 40 different majors to 1,500 students with a unique opportunity with no tuition fees for all students but they work for his or her schooling.
The inspiration for starting the school by Reverend Forsyth happened one day after hunting out. The Reverend noticed a young boy named Benjy Cummings hunting for squirrels to help feed his family. The Reverend had a short conversation with the boy who finished only fourth grade and could not continue schooling because his family has no means to send him to school.
The Reverend then saw the struggle of the youth to get a good education. He then gained a charter from the state of Missouri and helped worthy students needing assistance to attain education. Initially, the school started as a high school named School of the Ozarks and remained until 1956. Then by 1964 the school board decided to offer 4-year liberal arts college.
The College of the Ozarks offers tourists to visit the college campus which is a perfect place for taking pictures and strolling around in the afternoon. When the college has grown from a struggling high school to become liberal arts college, its goal remains the same, “to provide free education for youths found to be worthy but without sufficient means to support schooling.”
Today, College of the Ozarks have 80 different workstations that include dairy where students milk cows and process milk and serve guests in the Dobyns Dining Room and Keeter Center.
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