The five years of 2011-16 will require facilities, infrastructure and supporting services that will meet not only current needs, but also the projected future needs of the institution. The demand for expanded services, constrained resources, changing technology, geographic separation of the Missouri State University System campuses and the backlog of needed repairs all contribute to the challenge of creating a positive and productive learning atmosphere during the next five years.
In addition to University property, another 222,000 square feet of academic and administrative space is leased (principally in Springfield, Mountain Grove, Houston and West Plains) at an annual cost of nearly $2.2 million to the University System.
Missouri State owns several special facilities, including the William H. Darr Agricultural Center, Baker's Acres and the Bull Shoals Field Station. The University also has access to the 3,300-acre Journagan Ranch.
Available space in University-owned and leased facilities consists of more than 2.54 million square feet, with instructional, research, academic and institutional support accounting for about 62 percent of the total and student services occupying the balance. With just 186 square feet of academic and administrative space per full-time equivalent student (fall 2010), the Missouri State System ranked last among Missouri's public, four-year higher education institutions in this category.
The University's backlog of maintenance and repairs continues to grow faster than the available resources –– in 2010, the backlog in maintenance and repair stood at nearly $91 million.