University System and Mission
SMSU abridged mission statement
Southwest Missouri State University is a metropolitan university serving a unique combination of urban and rural environments, whose single purpose is to develop educated persons. The university is committed to the creation of a teaching and learning environment which maximizes the student's opportunity to become such a person.
The academic experience is grounded in a focused general education curriculum which draws heavily from the liberal arts and sciences. This foundation provides the basis for successful mastery of focused disciplinary and professional studies as well as enabling critical, independent intellectual judgment on the culture and institutions of the larger society.
The university's identity is distinguished by its statewide mission in public affairs, a campus-wide commitment to foster competence and responsibility in the common vocation of citizenship. In addition to public affairs, the university commits itself to excellence in four focused theme areas -- professional education, health care, business and economic development, and performing arts -- all central components of the metropolitan conversation.
The university understands its task of developing educated persons to include adding to the store of human understanding through research, and drawing from that store of understanding to provide service to the community which supports it. In all of its programs, both undergraduate and graduate, the university is committed to using the most effective and regularly evaluated methods of discovering and imparting knowledge and to the appropriate use of technology in support of these activities.
The university functions through a three-campus system structured to complement one another and to address the needs of the metropolitan area they jointly serve. The system includes a selective admissions campus in Springfield, a two-year open admissions campus at West Plains, and a research campus at Mountain Grove.
SMSU System
SMSU's three campuses are structured to address the special needs of the urban and rural populations they serve (see Chart A). The university also owns and operates a 125-acre agriculture research and demonstration center in southwest Springfield as well as the Baker Observatory near Marshfield. In addition, SMSU operates a graduate residence center in Joplin and plans to open an instructional and service site in Branson.
Springfield campus
The central campus of SMSU in Springfield is a comprehensive, selective admissions campus which in 1994-95 offered baccalaureate, masters and specialist degrees. SMSU plans to offer a limited number of doctorates based on the university's mission and the state's demonstrated need. The first doctorate will be for master teachers. And SMSU plans to cooperate with other universities to offer additional doctorates.
Under a recent university-wide reorganization (see Charts B and C), the Springfield campus currently offers programs through 40 academic departments organized in eight colleges. More than 140 academic programs are offered at the undergraduate level, leading to eight undergraduate degrees. Twenty-one programs leading to seven graduate degrees are also offered. SMSU plans to expand its graduate offerings at the master's and doctoral levels.
West Plains campus
The West Plains Campus is an open admissions campus specifically structured to meet the needs of a seven-county rural area of south-central Missouri within the larger Springfield metropolitan region. SMSU-West Plains is mandated by state statute to offer one-year certificates, two-year associate degree programs, and credit and noncredit courses.
The West Plains Campus has separate accreditation through the North Central Association and currently offers two associate degrees: Associate of Arts in General Education and Associate of Science in Nursing. The campus plays an integral role in the successful implementation of the overall system mission, serves as one major feeder for the Springfield Campus, and provides a site for the Springfield Campus to offer upper level and graduate programs.
Consistent with its mandated mission and the five university-wide themes, the West Plains campus plans to offer a more comprehensive instructional program by adding 10 new associate degrees. These programs are detailed in the SMSU-West Plains five-year plan.
Research campus at Mountain Grove
The Research Campus in the Southwest Missouri State University system is located at Mountain Grove. The State Fruit Experiment Station, operated by the department of fruit science, is the center for research and advisory education activity on the campus. The station has a legislative mandate to generate knowledge through research, and to disseminate that knowledge for the economic development of the Missouri fruit industry.
Plans call for increased interaction with the relevant departments of the College of Business to emphasize the profitability of the industry. Research is carried on in pomology, enology, viticulture, plant pathology, entomology, tissue culture, and plant physiology. The faculty at Mountain Grove assists graduate students in their thesis research.
At present, the SMSU research campus does not offer courses for academic credit. Plans call for the faculty of the departments of fruit science, agriculture, biology and chemistry, among others, to develop and offer cooperative courses and programs at the Mountain Grove Campus. In addition, SMSU-West Plains will offer lower-level division credit courses beginning in January 1995.
System operation
System administration and coordination is the responsibility of the SMSU System Coordinating Council which reports to the Board of Regents through the system president. The Council, composed of representatives from each campus, is responsible for developing business and support systems necessary to ensure that the campuses operate cooperatively, efficiently, economically and without duplication.
The SMSU System Coordinating Council provides effective administration of the system while requiring minimal administrative overhead. No positions have been or will be added for system purposes.
The three campuses are linked electronically through computer networks, including Internet. In the fall of 1994 the Springfield and West Plains campuses will be linked with two-way interactive video to connect students at both sites -- and eventually at additional sites -- using voice and video. SMSU is committed to developing learning systems serving each campus through means of electronic laboratories and classrooms capable of receiving and sending textual, graphic, audio, and video information, and to better serve regional needs through distance learning capabilities enhanced by such technology.
SMSU central administration
Academic affairs
