Officials at Barton Community College don’t know why the 2023 summer enrollment is up about 2,500 credit hours from last year but they hope the trend will continue this fall.
Todd Mobray, the director of Institutional Effectiveness, was asked about the increase and prepared a report for Tuesday’s BCC Board of Trustees meeting. The college offered roughly the same number of courses this summer but saw enrollment increase from 16,922 credits to 19,438. The biggest increase – from 13,772 to 16,400 credits – was in Barton Online enrollment. The number of credits taken on the Barton County campus also increased from 688 to 733.
That still doesn’t answer the question “why” enrollment is up, Mobray said. “We’ve had four or five theories.”
In crunching the numbers, Mobray’s office looked at high school students, the age demographic beyond high school age, gender, specific states, specific coursework and military students.
For example, the top five subject areas with the greatest credit increase were physics, life courses (such as biology), math, chemistry and English courses. The biggest increase in enrollment by age was in 19-year-olds (up 926 credits) and 20-year-olds (up 821 credits). Females saw an 18% enrollment increase and males saw an 11% increase.
Overall, military students’ enrollment was up by 568 credits, even though active-duty enrollment decreased. The increased enrollment was in the military dependents taking courses.
Kansas had the greatest enrollment and the biggest increase (1,190 credits), followed by Oklahoma (+442 credits), Texas (+318), Missouri (+214) and New York (+78). Mobray said California is sometimes among the Top Five, and Barton saw enrollment from 45 “states,” although that word refers to more than the 50 U.S. states.
Where are the high school students?
While summer enrollment for high school students was up 88 credits over 2022, college administrators were surprised not to see bigger gains in that area. Last March, Barton trustees approved lowering tuition and fees for high school students to $50 per credit hour, a move intended to bolster high school enrollment.
What’s next
Students are already signing up for fall classes, Mobray said. So far, Barton enrollment is ahead of last year’s enrollment, but not as much.
Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman was among those who expressed hope the trend will continue. “I’m looking forward to seeing how the fall is going to unravel,” he said.
Vice President Elaine Simmons commented on how to use the data collected by Mobray’s office.
“At the bare minimum, it creates opportunities for discussion,” she said. “The challenge is making and taking the time to act on what the information is trying to tell you.”
Other business
The trustees also heard a report from Lindsey Bogner, executive director of Institutional Advancement, and a presentation by Latoya Hill, instructor and coordinator of the Pharmacy Technician program. Trustees were told that Career Technical Education (CTE) programs such as Hill’s will be highlighted at monthly board meetings for the next year.
The board approved a contract for Andrew Hartzell, who will become the lead Emergency Medical Service instructor on the Barton County campus.
