1. The board of governors of Missouri State University is authorized to continue the program of higher education at West Plains, Missouri, which was begun in 1963 and which shall be known as the “West Plains Campus of Missouri State University”. Missouri State University may include an appropriation request for the branch facility at West Plains in its operating budget.

2. The coordinating board for higher education in cooperation with the board of governors shall develop a mission implementation plan for the campus at West Plains, Howell County, which is known as the “West Plains Campus of Missouri State University”, and which shall be a teaching institution, offering one-year certificates, two-year associate degrees and credit and noncredit courses to both traditional and nontraditional students to meet the ongoing and emerging employer and educational needs of the citizens of the area served. The West Plains campus of Missouri State University may offer baccalaureate degrees only when authorized by the coordinating board for higher education in circumstances where the level of education required in a field for accreditation or licensure increases to the baccalaureate degree level or, in the case of applied bachelor’s degrees, the level of education required for employment in a field increases to that level, and when doing so would not unnecessarily duplicate an existing program, collaboration with a university is not feasible or the approach is not a viable means of meeting the needs of students and employers, and the institution has the academic and financial capacity to offer the program in a high-quality manner. Quality for such baccalaureate degree programs shall be evaluated at least in part by delivery of upper-level coursework or competencies, and defined by accreditation or compliance with the Higher Learning Commission standards for bachelor’s degrees.