OTC signs transfer agreement with MSSU

Ozarks Technical Community College and Joplin-based Missouri Southern State University have entered an agreement allowing OTC graduates and alumni to continue their education through MSSU.

MSSU President Dr. Bruce Speck and Dr. Shirley Lawler, OTC vice chancellor for academic affairs - who represented OTC Chancellor Hal Higdon - signed a memorandum of understanding this morning that allows OTC students and alumni with an Associate of Applied Science or Associate of Science to transfer to MSSU to earn a Bachelor of Applied Science degree.

"Ultimately, these sorts of agreements come down to one thing - how our institutions can work together to maximize a student's college experience," Speck said in a news release. “OTC has been a wonderful partner and shares our mission of making a college degree attainable for students.”

The agreement allows OTC graduates who transfer into the MSSU program to continue their education with no net loss of hours or unnecessary electives.

“MSSU has evaluated our coursework and determined that our Associate Degree in Applied Science and our Associate of Science degree satisfy (students') general education requirements, so there are no repeated classes or course work that winds up in the ‘black hole’ of unusable electives. This saves our students time and money," Lawler said in the release.