Students who have logged in to a school computer since returning from Spring break have most likely noticed a change.

No longer will students see an image of scenery branded with the campus’s name and logo, but rather a brightly colored full screen ad with a small Missouri Southern logo and place to log in. While faculty and staff was made aware of the impending change, the ad caused a mini uproar from many Southern employees.

The fullscreen login ad was sold at a rate of $2,000 per month.

The complaints were large enough in number to result in an email to all of the school’s employees from Southern Interim President Alan Marble apologizing for the ad and notifying them that it would be taken down.

“In our quest to replace lost state funding a clear mistake was made by selling ads on computer screens across campus. The mistake was mine and I apologize for any inconvenience, embarrassment, or discomfort the project caused. We will remove the ads, refund the ad fees, and adjust our course as soon as possible,” Marble wrote.

The ad displayed was for the website “247autosearch.com,” which shows ads for local car dealerships. The site is run by the Joplin Globe and resembles an online classified section.

While Marble said the ad would be removed, the entire faculty did not agreed with the sudden course of action. In a response to the previous email by Marble, Kelly Wilson, director of ACTS, defended the ad.

“I applaud our university and the work of Rod Surber in seeking new ways to offset our cost of doing business and educating our students,” said Wilson.

She continued, “I hope administration will allow us to converse among ourselves before taking this action.”