The director of the Barton Community College nursing program told college trustees Tuesday that she’d received good news about students’ success on state exams.

For the second year in a row, 100 percent of graduates who had studied to become Licensed Practical Nurses passed the state exam on the first attempt, and 80.77 percent of the Registered Nurse candidates passed, according to Dr. Kathy Kottas, Barton’s executive director of Nursing and Healthcare Education.

“We received official notice from the Kansas State Board of Nursing last week with the third-quarter results of the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN,” Kottas said. “At this point in the year, all of our graduates from 2018 have tested and we are able to report official results.”

Trustees have been concerned about the pass rate, which went down after new passing standards for RNs were implemented in 2013. In the 2015-2016 academic year, 27 Barton graduates attempted to earn RN certification for the first time and 12 passed – 44.44 percent. The national average that year was 81.68 percent.

College officials noted at the time that the annual report only shows how many students pass the exam the first time they take it and that students often go on to take the exams again with more success.

But they also said the 2015-2016 academic year was a turning point. Several changes were made; the program now focuses more on remediation for students if needed and training for staff. Last February, Dr. Kottas told the trustee that the changes had paid off. For 2016-2017, LPN graduates had a 100 percent pass rate on the National Council Licensure Examination and the RN graduates had an 88.89 percent pass rate.

With changes in place, Barton’s nursing program was fully re-accredited earlier this year by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, which requires a minimum pass rate of 80 percent at the RN level.

Barton Experience

During a monitoring report on the “Barton Experience,” Student Life Director Diane Engle talked about some of the activities her office coordinates for students. These include free bowling at Walnut Bowl and $4 movie nights at Golden Belt Cinema 6 in Great Bend, with transportation provided. Students also enjoy playing bingo for gift cards.

For those living on campus, the college subscribes to CATv, a service that screens eight new movies each month and 100 older movies, as well as eight seasons of television programming.

Late night breakfasts are another popular activity.

Action items

In action items, the trustees approved an addendum to a facilities naming contract. In January of 2016, the trustees approved the naming contract for the Kirkman weight room as the Kip & Kelly Spray Family Strength Training Center. The naming of the facility has been extended twice, most recently to 2037. Kip and Kelly Spray recently donated an additional $119,000 to the BCC athletic department, prompting Tuesday’s decision to extend the term of the original contract by 10 years to 2047.

The board also approved a contract for Chris Boeger, plumbing instructor for Barton’s Kansas Department of Corrections program at Larned. The following people were approved for employment on the Barton County campus: Kurt Williams, mechanical systems technician; Lacy Swain, CNA instructor (contract); Paula Stocker, Lead Care Provider; Kendall Meyer, secretary and data specialist (EOC); and Ashley Rasmussen, assistant athletic trainer.