Barton Community College’s enrollment of students outside its traditional seven-county service area continues to increase, thanks to students taking courses online.
A recent study shows BartOnline accounts for 40 percent of the enrollment at BCC, with another 1.3 percent through the online platform EduKan. The Barton County campus accounts for nearly 27 percent of enrollment, as do the Fort Riley/Grand View Plaza campuses. The newest campus, at Fort Leavenworth, accounts for the remaining 4.7 percent.
Other trends show that younger students are enrolling in classes, both online and on campus. This can be attributed in part to the increase in high school students earning college credit. The average student age at BCC overall has been between 29 and 32 since 2009, but dropped to 25 in 2015-2016. BartOnline’s average student age in 2009 was 27 and has steadily gotten younger; last year’s average age was 24.
Other findings:
BartOnline saw enrollments from across the state, the nation, and overseas. The Kansas city with the most online enrollments was Manhattan, with 2,473 in 2015-2016. There were also 782 BartOnline enrollments in Great Bend, 323 in Larned, and 146 in Ellinwood.
Out-of-state enrollments are growing as well, with the largest numbers coming from California, Texas, Missouri, Florida and Colorado.