School of Health Sciences

School Dean
Dr. Tia M. Strait
Health Sciences Building 112 • 417.625.3155

Mission

The Mission of the School of Health Sciences is to develop highly competent professionals through innovative academic programs supported by the liberal arts and global perspectives curriculum. The school is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and skills with integration of inter-professional education for the improvement of society and service to all its stakeholders.

Role

The School of Health Sciences 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 Health Sciences 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 Health Sciences are an integral part of the entire student body.

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

The School of Health Sciences also recognizes that in many respects the community is also a classroom. In some courses, area facilities are used as laboratory resources with students utilizing them under the direct supervision of regular university instructional personnel.

The School of Health Sciences offers curricula leading to a Master of Science, Bachelor of Science and Associate of Science degrees as well as certificates. Programs of shorter duration required for licensure or certification also are offered. 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 health care agencies. 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.

Goals

The goals of the School of Health Sciences are:

To provide opportunities for students to prepare for a broad range of established and emerging careers;
To maintain and develop curricula which provide the opportunity for students to obtain the background in liberal arts and sciences so they may appreciate their heritage and contemporary society to become a contributing member of their society;
To provide programs in the most cost effective method possible that are cognizant of contemporary requirements of career fields and which provide best available preparation for emerging requirements;
To provide opportunities and encouragement for faculty and staff to remain current and conduct research in their respective disciplines;
To provide instructional facilities and equipment essential to the maintenance of academically excellent instruction;
To provide a variety of supportive functions that serve a variety of area needs;
To offer quality programs, and in areas where required, maintain program content necessary for special accreditation;
To offer a variety of continuing education programs to meet special needs and demands;
To encourage faculty to provide consultation services and otherwise serve as resources for the area;
To advise people, including students and potential students, regarding knowledge, skills and abilities required to enter and succeed in various career fields;
To assist faculty to meet and maintain eligibility for special certification required in numerous programs.