College of the Day – Ottawa University Surprise (OUAZ). Any guesses where it is? Not Ottawa, Canada… but Surprise, Arizona. The first campus was formed in Ottawa, KS in 1865. Ottawa U Surprise is a private Baptist college with over 700 students.
OUAZ has eliminated classes on Wednesdays of each 8-week term to prepare students for life and work. The day is spent on personal development including advising, tutoring, workshops and private study. The remainder of the day includes Spirit Life, The Gathering and Workshops.
Spirit Life is an hour when the OUAZ community comes together for a time of fellowship with testimonial, motivational, and timely topic speakers. Attendees are led in singing by a praise and worship band.
After, everyone lunches together at The Gathering and then attends workshops on public
speaking, project management, leadership, business writing, negotiations, personal finance, how persuasion, personal selling, research, conflict management, listening, group facilitation, etc. Employers prize these skills and set OUAZ students apart as work-ready graduates.
OUAZ teams are known as the Spirit. They are a member of the Golden State Athletic Conference; football competes in the Sooner Athletic Conference (preseason #1). https://bit.ly/3bPR0cA
Deep Thoughts on Higher Ed 