The Barton Community College Board of Trustees gathered Tuesday evening for its regular meeting and discussed one of its eight overarching goals, known as “ends.” The one up for discussion this month was “Barton Experience.”
This end states, “Students’ responses will reflect positively about their Barton experience.” It is supported by statements to guide measurement of the college’s success in reaching the END, including, “Student responses will be documented through student exit surveys and other report mechanisms. Student response will assess impact of faculty and staff. Student responses will reflect the diversity of the student body. Individuals/students will experience various cultural activities.”
Barton alumna Lindsey Rojas shared her Barton experience with the Board of Trustees on Tuesday. She attended Barton from 2011-2013, graduating with an associate in science. She then transferred to Kansas Wesleyan University where she earned her bachelor degree in educational counseling and a minor in psychology. She is now the Assistant Director for a childcare center in Ellsworth and is in pursuit of an online master’s degree from Fort Hays State University. She recently took first place in the Great Plains Students’ Psychology Convention at FHSU in the spring semester of 2017. She was a high achiever at KWU as well, finishing in the top 10 percent of her class with the second highest GPA.
When she initially began her journey at Barton, she was seeking an atmosphere conducive to her lifestyle as a new parent.
“In a way, I was a nontraditional student, because right after high school I had my daughter, who is now seven,” she said. “I didn’t want to just be a number. If I needed assistance, I could just go to the teacher personally and they would know my situation. Every single one of my teachers knew my name and knew I had a child. I was able to live on campus. Most of my friends and people who were in my wedding were students who were here with me.”
She credited her passion for psychology and persistence to continue her education to her advisors and Psychology Instructor Rick Bealer, and in general to the staff and faculty and the atmosphere they create for students at Barton.
“It felt like family,” she said.
Other highlights from the ENDs report include:
• Post Graduation Survey responses are about 90 percent positive or better for most services.
• Barton Community College Survey of Student Engagement shows Barton students are satisfied with the services they receive.
• 98 percent of Graduation Survey respondents say their overall education experience at Barton was positive.
• 97 percent of Graduation Survey respondents say they would recommend Barton to a friend.