Our Role in the University and in the Community

The School of Technology is one of the four major instructional entities of Missouri Southern. As such, it offers quality instruction by and under the leadership of professional educators who also have the advantage of actual work experience in business, industry, health care, and government. Instruction is further enhanced by the utilization of qualified individuals from business and professionals in the community as guest lecturers and part-time instructors.

Courses offered by individual departments within the School of Technology are specifically career oriented toward a specialized field. The faculty in these departments recognize the necessity of providing an understanding of the relationships between careers and society; therefore, courses from the fine arts, humanities, and natural sciences, as well as courses to refine a student's ability to read, write, speak, and think are a required part of each department’s curriculum. As a result, the students majoring in the various curricula in the School of Technology are an integral part of the entire student body.

All courses offered in the School of Technology are designed to provide students with the experience, skills, or expertise that enable them to enter their employment field and meet requirements imposed by any certifying and licensing examination that may be required.

The School of Technology also recognizes that in many respects the community is also a classroom. Therefore, a number of curricula include courses that are offered by other educational agencies. In some courses, area facilities are used as laboratory resources with students utilizing them under the direct supervision of regular college instructional personnel.

The School of Technology offers curricula leading to a Bachelor of Science, Associate of Science, and Associate of Arts degrees and one-year certificates. Programs of shorter duration required for licensure or certification also are offered, often in conjunction with the Division of Continuing Education. Numerous courses and workshops are offered to meet specific and often rapidly emerging demands of business, industry, and public services.

All departments work closely with advisory boards composed of professionals from area business, industry, government, and health care. The advisory board assists the faculty of the various departments in maintaining relevancy of curriculum content and identifying special needs that can be addressed through continuing education programs.