Barton Community College will raise tuition and fees for some students this fall. Barton County students will no longer receive a $7 per credit hour scholarship but the BCC Board of Trustees has approved a new in-county/district tuition rate that is $7 lower than what other in-state students pay. The net result for those students will be a $2 per credit hour fee increase.

The changes were approved by the BCC Trustees Tuesday. In addition to the new in-district rate, the biggest changes were for out-of-state tuition and for students at Fort Riley, Fort Leavenworth and Grandview Plaza.

The changes include:

• In-county/district students will pay $67 tuition and $40 fees, a total of $107 per credit hour. Currently, they pay $74 tuition and $38 for fees but receive a $7 tuition scholarship funded by the college.

• Other in-state residents will pay $74 tuition and $40 fees, a total of $114. The net change is $2 more for fees.

• All students who pay fees will see a $2 increase, from $38 to $40.

• Out-of-state (non-resident) students will pay $94 tuition and $40 fees, a total of $134. This reverses a three-year experiment that offered out-of-state students the in-state rate, which was intended to increase enrollment. Like in-state students, they paid $72 tuition and $38 fees in 2017-2018, and $74 tuition and $38 fees in 2018-2019.

• International students will pay $157 tuition, the same as last year, but they will pay the new $40 rate for fees.

• BartOnline and EduKan students will continue to pay $150 tuition with no fees.

• A new category was created for Fort Riley/Fort Leavenworth/Grandview Plaza students, who will pay $120 tuition per credit hour, with no fees.

Trustees compared Barton's rates to other Kansas community colleges’ tuition and fee rates at their Feb. 12 study session but the recommendation for changes was not presented at that time. Vice President of Administration Mark Dean noted that other community colleges would also be making adjustments in the coming weeks.

Dean said Tuesday he expects increases “across the board.” The highest he has seen so far is $8, and the lowest was $1, at Johnson County Community College. He said the average increase will probably be $4-5.

Thirteen of the state’s 19 community colleges already offered lower in-district tuition and fees, ranging from $113 at Colby Community College to $71 at Dodge City Community College. This represents a $5 discount at Colby and $38 at Dodge City.

Barton has traditionally positioned itself around the bottom of the top one-third in price ranking. The exception was when it lowered out-of-state tuition. This year, Barton’s and Independence Community College’s out-of-state tuition and fees were $112; only Fort Scott Community College was lower at $111.

When it comes to international tuition and fees, Barton’s $195 (soon to be $197) cost ranks near the middle.