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Missouri Academy

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the Missouri Academy established?

The Missouri Academy was established in August 2000. The first class of students, the Pathfinders, enrolled in the fall of 2000 and graduated in May 2002.

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Why is the Missouri Academy located at Northwest Missouri State University?

Dr. Dean Hubbard, President of Northwest Missouri State University, proposed the Missouri Academy as one of the Mission Enhancement Projects presented to the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE).

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How many students attend the Missouri Academy?

Academic Year Number of
First-Year Students

Number of
Second-Year Students

 Total
2000-2001
Inception Year		 41 0 41
2001-2002 57 30 87
2002-2003 58 40 98
2003-2004 44 54 98
2004-2005 54 37 91
2005-2006 59 48 107
2006-2007 54 44 98
2007-2008 88 40 128

The long-term goal of the Missouri Academy is to expand and accommodate a maximum total of about 240-250 highly qualified students; hopefully 80-85% of these students will be from Missouri, and 15-20% from other states and abroad.

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Where do the students live?

The Missouri Academy students live in North Complex (Cooper Hall and Douglas Hall), specially designed residence halls on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University. Please refer to the Northwest Missouri State University campus map to view location of Cooper Hall and Douglas Hall. Boys and girls have separte living spaces.

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How is the Missouri Academy residence hall organized?

The residence halls for the Missouri Academy (North Complex) are designed to provide a safe and healthy environment for the students. The Director of Student Development is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the residential halls, and facilitates the development, implementation, and assessment of all student development systems. Residential Counselors (RC's) live on the floors with the students. RC's are full-time employees who act as mentors and confidantes. They facilitate the students' personal, social, emotional and academic growth.

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Are there different living arrangements and rules for Missouri Academy students?

Missouri Academy students are expected to follow the rules and regulations in the Northwest Student Handbook, plus additional policies defined in the Missouri Academy Student-Parent Handbook. There are curfews, sign in and sign out policies, defined off-limit areas both on and off campus, a zero tolerance policy on alcohol and drug abuse, no cars allowed on campus, etc. Our expectations for Missouri Academy students can be summarized as; we would like you to contribute positively to the living and learning environment at the Missouri Academy.

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Will students have access to a computer or will they need to bring their own?

The University provides one notebook personal computer (PC) to each on campus resident. Students are allowed to bring their own PC to campus if they choose. A black and white laser printer and additional PC's are available to Missouri Academy students in the Computer Lab on the first floor of the residence hall. Recreational use of personal computers should not take precedence over or interfere with a student's academics. If non-academic use of a computer is deemed to be interfering with a student's success at the Missouri Academy, computer use could be restricted. Networking access of computers located in the Missouri Academy is terminated at midnight and restarted at 6:00 am.

The Notebook PC's for Missouri Academy students have the following specifications:

  • HP model 6515
  • AMD Turion 64 x2 tl-60  (2.0 GHz) processors
  • AMD m690t chipset
  • 80GB  Hard disk drive
  • 2GB RAM memory
  • CD burner/DVD player
  • ATI Radeon X1250 Graphics
  • 56k Modem
  • Integrated Intel 10/100 Network Interface
  • 4 USB, 1 firewire, headphone/microphone
  • 14.1" widescreen LCD monitor
  • 6 in 1 media card reader
  • Broadcom 802.11a/b/g/n wireless nic
  • 6 cell battery
  • Microsoft Windows XP professional (Operating system)
  • Microsoft Office 2007 professional (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access)
  • Internet Explorer 7
  • Norton Antivirus

Personally provided hardware devices (printer, zip-drive, scanners, etc.) must be compatible with Microsoft Windows XP and must connect to the computer via USB, parallel or serial ports. All personal PC's must be registered with client computing prior to being connected to the campus network and must have up to date anti virus protection. Various how to guides, policy statements, and specifications are available at the Client Computing web site.

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Are the students allowed to have telephones in their rooms?

Telephone services are available to offer the opportunity for students to communicate with family, friends from home, on and off campus resources and each other. To help insure adequate study and rest, phone lines into student rooms are turned off at midnight and turned on at 6:00 a.m. Students are expected to be considerate of their roommate in using the phone. Pagers are not allowed. For an emergency situation after midnight, parents may reach their child by calling the RC. Students, in an emergency situation, may use a RC's phone.

Local telephone service is provided to all residents. Students must provide a touch-tone telephone. As soon as the phone cord (with a modular plug) is connected to the jack, residents can call anywhere on campus or in Maryville at no charge. Also, they can receive calls from anywhere directly to their room. Residents will be responsible, however, for paying for long distance phone costs (see below). Students who own cell phones are not allowed to take them to class and must turn them in to the RC at in-room curfew.

Voice Mail

Each resident will receive a voice mailbox and password. The voice mailbox will function like an answering machine but has many more features. Students may operate the voice mailbox and retrieve and send messages from any dial tone phone.

Long Distance Service

The Telecommunications Office will assign each resident an authorization code that gives his/her phone line long distance dialing capabilities. If a resident does not wish to take advantage of this service, he/she will need to contact the Telecommunications Office at ext. 1634. Roommates are given different authorization codes for long distance service. By using different authorization codes, each roommate is assured of being billed only for his/her own personal calls. Students pay nothing for the initial authorization code; they pay only for the cost of their long distance calls. If a resident chooses to move from one room to another after the initial room change period, a $10.00 fee is charged for moving the authorization code. Additionally, long-distance phone capabilities will be disconnected if telephone bills are not paid on a monthly basis. There will be a $10.00 fee to reconnect the service. The long distance rates for the 2007-2008 school year are:

  • Weekdays - 15 cents/min
  • Week Nights - 8 cents/min
  • Weekends - 8 cents/minute
  • Foreign calls - $2.50/minute

Students may also use personal phone cards or cellular phones for long distance calls.

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Where do Missouri Academy students eat while living in the residence hall?

Each Missouri Academy student is on the Aladine meal plan. On this plan students have the freedom to eat at any of the Campus Dining locations.

Various shops in the Food Court in the Student Union include:

  • Bene Pizza
  • Bene Pasta
  • Quizno's
  • Zoca
  • Salad Garden
  • Wok
  • Cranberry Farms
  • Grille Works
  • Tmmy. Ymmys.
  • Kettle Classics
  • Express

Also located in the Student Union are The Runt, and Java City. New to campus is JW's Grille which is a casual dining restaurant that opened in the fall of 2006. Outside the Union students can visit Java City at The Station, and C3 convenience store at The Station or at Forest Village Apartments or have their meal delivered from the local Domino's or Pizza Hut locations. The Bearcat Card functions as a meal card and must be presented at each meal. It also can be used for pizza deliveries. With all these choices, Campus Dining offers something to suit everyone's taste. A fully furnished kitchen in the residence hall is also available for students if they choose to cook.

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Are laundry facilities available to the Missouri Academy students?

Washers and dryers are provided on the first floor of the residence hall. Students are responsible for laundry supplies and money to run the machines. The cost to use a washing machine is $1.50, and dryers are free. Students may also use their Bearcat Card, which is less expensive than using money in the machines. The cost of the washing machine is $1.25 with the Bearcat Card. The Missouri Academy does not provide linen services.

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How do you provide for a student's medical needs?

The University Wellness Center is located on campus. The Wellness Center is committed to quality outpatient care. They focus on wellness, not only as a prevention of disease, but also as a philosophy of life. This philosophy emphasizes self-responsibility and taking an active role in maintaining one's health. Presentations on a variety of healthy topics are offered to the student.

The Wellness Center provides heath care in a clinic setting to all students. Nurses, a woman's health nurse practitioner and a medical doctor staff the clinic. The Wellness Center's hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and, except for emergencies, patients are seen by appointment only.

A Wellness Fee is assessed at $5.50 per credit hour each Fall, Spring and Summer trimester. During clinic visits, the Wellness Fee covers the costs of consultation, diagnosis and treatment recommendations that are not otherwise covered by health insurance. This fee does not cover the cost of medications, medical supplies, laboratory tests or procedures (injections, minor
surgeries, etc.) done at the time of service. Any charges that are not covered by the Wellness Fee or health insurance will be billed to the student’s University account. There are no out-of-pocket expenses at the time of service. The Wellness Fee funds a broad range of services that benefit all Northwest students, including: health services, personal development and counseling, public health and emergency response programs, and a wide variety of health promotion initiatives. For more information, please contact the Wellness Center at (660) 562-1348.

At the present time, it is not feasible for the Heath Center to file insurance claims. We continue to explore options to allow us to offer this service. At the time of the student's visit he/she will be given a copy of the bill that may be sent to the insurance company for possible reimbursement.
St. Francis Hospital, in Maryville, provides 24-hour emergencies service, x-ray and specialty clinic.

International students are required to take health care insurance through Northwest Missouri State Univerty.

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Are students able to participate in clubs, organizations and sports while they attend the Missouri Academy?

Students are permitted to form and join groups of common purposes, which are consistent with the philosophy, rules and regulations of the Missouri Academy and that are open to all members of the Missouri Academy Student Body. Students have a responsibility to conduct the activities of the organization in a manner that reflects compatibility with the curriculum of the Missouri Academy. Each club must be approved by the Director of Student Development, and must also have a faculty/staff advisor. Students also have access to membership in many of the Northwest campus organizations. The Director of Student Development must approve membership in a Northwest organization. Missouri Academy students cannot join fraternities or sororities nor attend their functions. NCAA regulations negate Missouri Academy students from joining Northwest athletic teams. Examples of clubs that students participated in are: Northwest Student Affiliate of the American Chemical Society, Pre-Med Club, Stargazers Astronomy Club, Psychology/Sociology Society, International Student Organization and Alliance of Black Collegians.

Intramural and wellness activities are offered as part of University and Missouri Academy programming and may include such activities as basketball, billiards, chess, card and other table games, golf, soccer, table tennis, volleyball, tennis, a 5K run, and Frisbee. Other events may be added as student interest indicates. To participate in MASMC sponsored activities see the Missouri Academy Student Activities Coordinator. To participate in University intramural activities, determined to be safe for Missouri Academy students by the Director of the University Intramural Program, and to use the campus recreation center, a signed parental permission form is required. The student Recreation Center is available for all students to utilize on a drop-in basis. Some activities are basketball, volleyball, walleyball, racquetball, and walking/jogging on a suspended track. The University Fitness Center is available to students who choose to purchase a student membership.

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Will Missouri Academy students take the same classes as traditional college students?

Yes. Missouri Academy students will sit side-by-side with traditional university students and take the same college courses.  The overall curriculum and course load are more rigorous – all courses are taught by the Northwest professors with terminal degrees in their disciplines. After the first trimester, qualified Missouri Academy students will be allowed to take electives, which may be any course offered at Northwest, provided prerequisites are met. Since there will be only a small number of Missouri Academy students and they will probably take a wide variety of courses, there is no way to know if a Missouri Academy student will be in any particular class.

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Are tutors available to assist students with academic needs?

Free math and science tutors are available. All services, including tutoring services, provided by Northwest are available to students at the Missouri Academy. These services can be found at the Talent Development Center, the Writing Center, and the Math Lab. Some academic departments also have tutors designated to help with specific classes. In addition, tutors for selected classes are available at the Missouri Academy during scheduled study hours.

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Is it possible for Missouri Academy students to attend music classes?

Yes, students can take classes in music, foreign languages, philosophy, art, and economics as general electives.  However, required courses take first priority in scheduling for classes.  Students may not take any electives during their first trimester at the Missouri Academy. The only exception to this policy is for courses that are taken as an activity credit, for example, Marching Band. The course and grade appear on the official Northwest transcript. However, the grade assigned to an activity credit is not used in the computation of the grade point average. A number of Students participate in Marching Band, Symphonic Band and Orchestra while at the Missouri Academy.

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What does a typical class schedule look like for an Missouri Academy student?

Most beginning students in their first trimester take General Biology, Chemistry I, English Composition I, Pre-Calculus and Freshman Seminar (see below).  However, students are allowed to test out of Pre-Calculus and Chemistry I, for higher level courses.  Students can take courses that depart from the typical scheduled/required courses at the recommendation of the Missouri Academy Director of Academic Affairs and/or the department faculty who teaches these courses.

Typical Fall Class Schedule for a Beginning Student

Typical MASMC Student Schedule

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