OTC idea spawns fast-growing community college

“We went out there looking for a visionary leader,” said Jackie McKinsey, the current president of the school’s board of trustees.

They found Norman K. Myers, OTC’s original and only president.

Since then, the community college has shortened its name, grown from 1,198 students to 8,959 last fall and earned Community College Week’s title of fastest-growing community college nationwide in 2001.

Despite being at the helm through all of this, Myers is not that comfortable with the identity of “visionary leader.” He attributes OTC’s success to quality instruction, being close to students’ homes, low cost and a staff that treats each student as an individual.

Proof is in the pudding

But the numbers suggest McKinsey’s compliment might not be far from the truth.

The number of individuals that have taken courses at OTC tallies 98,877. There have been 5,501 degrees or certificates earned: 2,221 of them Associate of Applied Science, 2,081 Associate of Arts and 1,199 certificates.

As of March 1, OTC employed 368 full-time staff members, 376 adjunct instructors and 194 part-time staff members, said Cindy Hinds, director of public relations. The school paid out more than $17 million in fiscal year 2004 salaries, less benefits. The current operating budget is $35.5 million.

That’s a long way from the school’s first fiscal year, 1990–1991, when there were 35 staff members, most of whom were added halfway through the year. The salary budget was $341,837 and the operating budget was $1.5 million, Hinds said.

And as the numbers of students, faculty and expenses grew over the years, so did the reputation of the college – and the expectations of its students.

From the beginning, the school has offered five key services: noncredit continuing education; technical training in areas such as automotive technology, computer/data processing and practical nursing; high school equivalency, or GED; a curriculum that covers the first two years of a bachelor’s degree; and the Training Resource Group, a customized employee training program for local businesses.

Changing demographics

Originally, OTC was perceived as more of a blue-collar school, said Ty Patterson, vice president of student services, adding that the average student was 32 years old.

“The first year, Zenith had shut down, and we had a lot of older students who were looking for some kind of training program to help them compensate for the loss of employment,” Patterson said.

The majority of students seemed to follow similar demographics: They were a little older, were a little less traditional and were looking for an education and training that would transfer immediately into the workplace. Patterson estimated that during the first years, 70 percent to 80 percent of students were enrolled in one of the technical programs versus planning to transfer to a four-year college.

The community college started with 18 degree/ certificate programs; that’s since doubled, Hinds said.

Myers said the school relies on a system of more than 30 citizens’ advisory committees to help determine which degree and training programs are added. Each committee encompasses members within a specific field; the members meet between four and five times a year and discuss career trends within their specialties and recommend course improvements or new specialties. Examples are the transition from typing classes to keyboarding and the recent addition of a dental hygiene program.

Today, the median age of OTC students is 23, Patterson said, with 50 percent of students planning to transfer to a four-year college and 40 percent getting technical training.

Patterson believes the younger students are attracted to OTC through word-of-mouth. And those bound for bachelor’s degrees are lured by the lower tuition costs as much as the school’s reputation.

Tuition situation

OTC is not immune to higher education’s rising tuition. In the 1991–92 school year, in-district tuition per credit hour was $26. For the past five years, tuition per credit hour has increased each year. A recent board-approved 4 percent increase brings tuition to $78 per credit hour, beginning this summer.

“We’re not happy about that. We are supposed to be, and think we are, dedicated to low tuition,” Myers said.

Funding is always a challenge, McKinsey said. “Each community college in the state receives funding from a local levy, and this is the lowest levy in the state. That’s one issue. And then state funding, of course, is diminishing,” she said.

Today, tuition and fees cover 46 percent of the school’s revenue; state appropriations are at 22 percent; the property tax levy accounts for 16 percent; state and federal grants represent nearly 8 percent; and other sources such as consulting and catering generate another 8 percent.

Rapid growth is another challenge OTC has faced.

“At one time, we were all over Springfield, in North Town Mall and Cox North, and here and there, a little bit of everywhere. Consolidating those places onto our main campus has been a tremendous thing,” McKinsey said.

Myers said managing the rapid growth continues to be a challenge. The current campus was built to accommodate 7,000 students, an enrollment number OTC has surpassed by nearly 2,000 students, Myers said. He added that student numbers are projected to reach 14,000 by 2014.

While OTC has off-campus locations in Ozark, Branson, Lebanon and Waynesville, a south campus in Ozark is expected to open in the fall of 2007, Myers said. In the long run, the campus is planned to accommodate an estimated 10,000 students, though Myers said he expects that approximately 2,000 students will enroll in the first year.

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