OTC opens Waynesville Education Center

By Steve Koehler

Pulaski County students don’t have much longer to wait to enjoy their own Ozarks Technical Community College education center.

The 10,300 square foot facility, featuring state-of-the-art classrooms, will be open in time for fall classes in August.

 Located in the Town Field Plaza, 320 Ichord Ave., Suite U, in Waynesville, OTC’s newest education center will offer a wide variety of courses that students can register for right now by calling (573) 774-5061. The email address is waynesville@otc.edu.

“We have found that the demand for classes in the Ft. Leonard Wood/St. Robert/Waynesville area falls primarily during the day, while we are currently only able to offer evening classes,” said Hal Higdon, president of Ozarks Technical Community College.

 “The move to a larger facility demonstrates our commitment to providing accessible, quality education to the region.”

The new education center will offer 35 day and evening classes to help students who want to enroll in college-credit courses this fall semester. These classes include: Biology, Business, Communication, English, Math and other general education courses.

Students can complete an Associate of Arts degree at the center, working toward fulfilling the requirements of a four-year degree.

Since Waynesville High School is an approved A+ campus, qualified students are eligible for tuition and fee reimbursements when they attend OTC at the new center.

They also receive 50 percent of their textbook costs through the program. The program applies to those taking classes at the center.

Information on the A+ program is available through the high school.

Sue Moore, OTC Dean of Extended Campus and College Outreach, said the center was established after a survey of Waynesville high school students expressed their desire in having an OTC center in their city.

“There was a lot of interest in students wanting to take classes (in Waynesville). Most of them wanted business, marketing and psychology classes,” she said. “We’re there because we believe there’s a need there. We’re responding to the community and its needs.”

Rosalind Pride is OTC’s new administrative assistant who will help oversee operations at Waynesville. She will also teach.

“I am the contact person. If they have questions or need some academic, advising, I am available to meet with them,” she said.

Bruce Harrill, Waynesville’s city administrator, is excited to see OTC come to the city.

 “We’re happy to see OTC expanding to Waynesville. The center opens up an opportunity for our high school graduates to go on to higher education a quality community college and enhance their future employment opportunities for getting a job in the Waynesville area,” he said.

Harrill added that the opening of the center is just the beginning of a relationship with OTC.

“I see a lot of potential for a lot of different partnership opportunities.”

Steve Koehler is coordinator of publications at OTC.