College of the Ozarks

What College of the Ozarks does

College of the Ozarks is a private, non-profit Christian liberal arts college located in Point Lookout, Missouri, founded in 1906. The institution's mission is to provide higher education to youth of both sexes who are found worthy but lack sufficient financial means. It operates a distinctive "work college" model in which all full-time undergraduate students participate in the mandatory Work Education Program, working 15 hours per week across more than 100 campus workstations plus two 40-hour work weeks during academic breaks. Student labor covers approximately $6,720 of the $19,800 annual Tuition Assurance for the 2022-23 academic year, with state and federal grants plus institutional scholarships covering the remainder, allowing graduates to leave debt-free. The college organizes its identity around five pillars (Academic, Christian, Cultural, Patriotic, and Vocational) and is widely known by the trademarked nickname "Hard Work U."

The institution's core revenue mechanics combine Tuition Assurance (funded by student work, grants, and scholarships), Room and Board paid by students, auxiliary operations, and donations managed through the Development office. Technology infrastructure is standard educational IT, centered on the Jenzabar Campusweb student portal, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Transact payments, deployed across a Windows-based PC environment with campus-wide wireless. Wholly-owned operating subsidiaries include the Ralph Foster Museum (established 1960), The Keeter Center (hospitality and dining), and the S of O Lab School (K-12, including the Truitt S. Cathy Lower School). Additional program lines include the CitizenTrip-branded Patriotic Education Travel Program (operating since 2009), the Bobcat GOLD Program partnering with the Army National Guard, and the Ozark Visitor magazine. The Keeter Center doubles as a hospitality training venue featuring student-made products.

Go-to-market is community-led and regional, drawing applicants primarily from the Ozarks region of Southwest Missouri through word-of-mouth, high school counselor relationships, and on-campus visit programs. The admissions process includes an application, interview, and waitlist system, with the college serving a single primary persona segment: traditional undergraduate students seeking a Christian education with demonstrated financial need. The institution does not have a public-facing API, mobile application, or AI/ML capability documented in available sources, and operates with a single headquarters campus at 1 Opportunity Ave., Point Lookout, MO 65726. Ownership is independent under a board of trustees, with no parent company, private equity, or venture capital involvement, and President Brad Johnson leads executive operations.

Name

College of the Ozarks

Legal name

College of the Ozarks

Website

https://cofo.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1906

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

College of the Ozarks is a private Christian liberal arts college in Point Lookout, Missouri, where all full-time students work 15 hours weekly across 100+ campus workstations to fund Tuition Assurance and graduate debt-free.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Point Lookout

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Work Education Program: Full-time students participate in the Work Education Program, working 15 hours per week plus two 40-hour work weeks during academic breaks. Students contribute approximately $6,720 annually toward their Tuition Assurance ($19,800 annually for 2022-23) through their work hours. This is not direct revenue but represents an operational cost offset model where student labor covers a portion of educational costs.
2. Tuition Assurance / Tuition Revenue: The college provides Tuition Assurance meaning students do not pay tuition for academic coursework. Revenue comes from the combination of student work contributions, state and federal grants, and college scholarships. This distinctive model allows graduates to avoid student loan debt.
3. Room and Board: Students pay for room and board. Summer work program hours can be applied toward room and board costs for the following academic year. Meal plans are available through Bobcat Food Services.
4. Donations and Development: The Development office manages alumni giving, planned giving, and the Associates program. The college maintains various giving programs including Seeds of Success and online donation capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

College of the Ozarks is a private Christian liberal arts college in Point Lookout, Missouri that delivers undergraduate education through a mandatory Work Education Program. Full-time students work 15 hours per week plus two 40-hour work weeks during academic breaks at 100+ campus workstations, contributing approximately $6,720 of labor toward an annual Tuition Assurance of $19,800 (2022-23). The remaining tuition is covered by state and federal grants and college scholarships, enabling graduates to leave debt-free. The institution also operates auxiliary offerings including a K-12 Lab School, the Keeter Center hospitality facility, and the Ralph Foster Museum.

Product overview

College of the Ozarks operates as a Christian liberal arts college with a distinctive educational model centered on five pillars: Academic, Christian, Cultural, Patriotic, and Vocational. The institution's primary offerings include undergraduate degree programs supported by a mandatory Work Education Program where students work across 100+ campus workstations to help fund their education. The college operates several auxiliary programs including the Ozark Visitor magazine, Ralph Foster Museum, The Keeter Center hospitality facility, and a K-12 Lab School. Patriotic education is emphasized through the Patrotic Education Travel Program pairing students with Veterans, and Patriots Park contains multiple military memorials. The institution uses Jenzabar's Campusweb as its student information system portal. Students graduate debt-free through the Tuition Assurance program combined with the work education model.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CitizenTrip: Patriotic education travel program that pairs College of the Ozarks students with Veterans, taking them back to battlefields where they served.
• The Keeter Center
• Bobcat GOLD Program
• Ozark Visitor

Products and services

• Undergraduate Education with Work Education Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates earn degrees without student loan debt
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Alice Lloyd College: Small Appalachian work college serving students with financial need through a Student Work Program covering tuition. Operates the same work-for-tuition model as College of the Ozarks at a similar rural, faith-informed scale.
• Warren Wilson College: North Carolina-based work college requiring all residential students to participate in a work program on campus farms, gardens, and enterprises. Shares the integrated work-education debt-reduction model that defines College of the Ozarks.
• Berea College: Kentucky-based private liberal arts work college that, like College of the Ozarks, requires all students to participate in a mandatory work program in exchange for tuition coverage. The two are the most prominent 'work colleges' in the U.S., sharing the no-tuition/fee model and work-integrated education positioning.
• Haskell Indian Nations University: Federal-tribal work-study college in Kansas where students also engage in work programs tied to tuition. Comparable as a tuition-offset, work-integrated residential college serving a specific student population.

Broad incumbents

• Taylor University: Indiana-based evangelical Christian liberal arts university with an explicitly faith-centered, character-development residential model. Closely aligned with College of the Ozarks on the Christian liberal arts positioning, although it charges tuition rather than the work-offset model.
• Calvin University: Christian Reformed-affiliated liberal arts university in Michigan offering similar faith-integrated residential undergraduate education. Comparable in mission orientation, denominational character, and small-to-mid private higher education scale.
• Wheaton College: Prominent evangelical Christian liberal arts college in Illinois with a similar faith-centered, residential, private liberal arts model, though without the mandatory work-for-tuition component. Comparable as an established Christian higher-education brand in the same niche.
• Biola University: California-based evangelical Christian university with similar faith-integrated liberal arts and pre-professional programs. Comparable as a faith-anchored private university competing for similar value-driven student segments nationally.

Regional players

• Evangel University: Springfield, Missouri-based Assemblies of God-affiliated Christian liberal arts university. Comparable as a regional faith-based private liberal arts competitor drawing from overlapping student populations in Southwest Missouri.
• Drury University: Private liberal arts university in Springfield, Missouri — the regional urban counterpart to College of the Ozarks in Southwest Missouri. Comparable private liberal arts competitor in the same state/region for prospective students considering private higher education in the Ozarks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cofohardworku
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXcBl4TV8HCK5jsofIWZ0rg
• Facebookfacebook.com/158167883354
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/college-of-the-ozarks
• Instagraminstagram.com/collegeoftheozarks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about College of the Ozarks