2025 Economic Impact Awards 75+ Years in Business Top Honors: College of the Ozarks

The 119-year-old College of the Ozarks is a perennial honoree in the Economic Impact Awards. Over the years, the college has added programs to meet workforce demands, but Chief Financial Officer Weston Wiebe – an alum – says not a lot has changed about its mission and purpose.

“Other institutions in the last 50-100 years may have seen more changes than we have, and they try to adapt to what’s going on, but we’ve been super consistent,” Wiebe says.

And that has proved to be a winning strategy, Wiebe says.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty in higher education, and it feels like every day there are more challenges coming toward institutions of higher education,” he says. “We’re thankful that for the most part, in the midst of those challenges, we’ve had a lot of stability.”

Known colloquially as Hard Work U., College of the Ozarks is free for its students, whose work on campus covers the cost of tuition.

“Students get excited about coming to College of the Ozarks for our work program, which allows them to graduate debt free with an emphasis on faith and our Christian mission,” Wiebe says.

Patriotism, too, is a big part of what C of O is all about, Wiebe adds, noting the college sends groups of students to historic sites in New York, Washington and even abroad to Vietnam to further their education.

“We try to educate students on the founding of America and the principles that have made our country what it is,” he says.

There is a difference at C of O, according to Wiebe, and it starts with its students.

“We think we’ve got the best students in the country,” he says. “People come on campus and feel that. When they’re in charge – they’re the ones cleaning the bathrooms, cutting the grass, taking care of cows and serving people meals at the Keeter Center – there’s a level of pride that comes with it.”

The college’s philosophy is to provide a student-centered approach, he says, and students and graduates are the best testimony to the success of its model.

“When they look around the country and see the student debt that’s taking place and they recognize they’re going to graduate debt free, they can tell their friends and their peers they don’t have any debt, and here’s why,” he says.

Meanwhile, the college has its ear to the ground to understand the larger community and its needs, Wiebe says, citing the addition of an engineering program, a nursing program and a K-12 school over the past decade and a half.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth in programs that I think are helping students go out into the workforce and fulfill needs in the area,” he says.