For Missouri, all postsecondary schools must be either certified to operate or exempted by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. However, there are several steps you need to complete before you contact the Department.

• Prepare a business plan and create an initial budget. Take a look around and do your research – is there a demand for the program you intend to offer? The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (https://meric.mo.gov/) can provide great information on the fastest growing occupations by region.

   

• Register the school with the Secretary of State (https://www.sos.mo.gov/business). You will need to decide if you will organize as a sole proprietorship, a limited liability company, a corporation, etc. There are pros and cons to each, so do your research and select the type that works best for you.
  
  

• Determine the general location (city / county) where you will operate your business. The certification process can be VERY lengthy, so use caution in signing leases or mortgages before you are approved. You CAN begin the certification process without a physical location, but you will need to provide the Department with a copy of the signed lease or mortgage before you receive your certificate of approval.
  
  

• Check with your city/county to determine if you need a business license.

   

• Secure financial resources. The Department will need verification you have adequate cash or near cash assets (things that can be sold quickly for cash) to operate your training program for 4 – 6 weeks without relying on student tuition.
  
  

• Open the school's bank account. This will help to ensure you keep personal expenses separate from the school’s.
  
  

• Develop your school’s curriculum/program. You should create a syllabus for each course to be offered within the program.

   

• Develop your school’s policies and publications. You will need to provide your school’s catalog, enrollment agreement, and transcript for review. The Department uses a checklist to verify you have each of the required items, so be sure to use the checklist yourself when you start on these documents. Make sure these documents are CONSISTENT. Different program names and costs are always causes for the application to be reverted, which will cost you time.

   

• Purchase instruction and operation equipment.
  
  

• Draft a job description with minimum qualifications you will require for faculty and administrative personnel. You can apply for certification before actually hiring these individuals, but they will need to be hired and in place before you enroll students.
  
  

• Start contacting insurance companies or your financial institution to discuss the process for obtaining a security deposit, which you will need to post with the Department before you get approved.

   

• Go to the Department’s Proprietary School Certification unit (https://dhewd.mo.gov/higher-education/psc) website and review the information under New School Approval Process. This will give you information on accessing the EDvera workflow system where you will submit the application and your exhibit documents and pay for the review.

   

• Get certified and start enrolling your students!