Tuition for out-of-state students at Barton Community College will be the same as tuition for in-state students — a reduction of $31 per credit hour — starting in the fall of 2017. All students will see a $4 increase in fees at that time.
The proposed changes were discussed earlier this month and approved Tuesday by the BCC Board of Trustees. At the March 14 study session, Dean of Administration Mark Dean said the college hopes to recruit more out-of-state students during this time of declining enrollment throughout the state. Those students currently pay $103 tuition and $32 fees.
His March 14 report noted:
“So far six institutions have developed lower out-of-state rates to encourage additional enrollments. These out-of-state students bring additional revenue to the institutions through tuition, fees, housing revenue, etc., as well as additional dollars to the community. This may be something Barton would want to consider.”
For the fall 2018 semester, tuition for in-state and out-of-state students will be $72 per credit hour, although students residing in Barton County will continue to receive a $7 per hour scholarship. Fees that are now $32 for all students will be $36 per credit hour.
Tuition for international students will remain unchanged at $155 per credit hour, but their fees will also increase from $32 to $36 per credit hour.
Tuition for BartOnline classes will be unchanged at $150 per credit hour. No fees are assessed for online classes.
Additional fees, such as technology fees, vary by course and will not change.
Claflin Neighborhood Revitalization
The board also approved an interlocal agreement for the Claflin Neighborhood Revitalization resolution. This agreement includes all property within the city limits of Claflin, except a portion of the city west of Ninth Street. The 2016 appraised valuation of real estate in the area is $2,547,372.
Improvements and new construction within the designated area that increase assessed value by at least 5 percent for residential property or at least 10 percent for commercial and industrial property may be eligible for a rebate or 25-95 percent per year over 10 years. Information and applications will be available at the Claflin City Clerk’s office at 111 East Hamilton St. in Claflin.

Personnel
Personnel approved Tuesday included Cheryl Brown, who will fill the new position of Title IX coordinator on the Barton County campus. Heather Panning, a former softball coach at Barton, returns as an administrative assistant in the athletics department.
Other new personnel are: Kim Walter, part-time instructional specialist, and Tanner Marston, systems analyst, both at Barton County; and Janice Cordell, administrative assistant for Fort Riley technical education and military outreach at the Grand View Plaza campus. Bailey Davis and Maggi Birchmeier were hired as customer service representatives at the Fort Riley campus.

Monitoring report
The board also heard a monitoring report on Academic Advancement, with two students sharing their experiences. The college’s communications office prepared a story in advance concerning student Zack Steffen’s presentation (see related story, "Student offers testimonial of transfer experience"). The other student who addressed trustees, Josie Hickey, plans to spend another semester at Barton before transferring to Fort Hays State University or Emporia State University. She hopes eventually to earn a master’s degree in art therapy.

This story was updated on March 29 to correct the date of tuition changes. They go into effect with fall 2017 courses.