An increase in tuition and fees at Barton Community College was approved by the Board of Trustees on Tuesday. The option recommended by the administration is expected to generate $369,186 in additional revenue after it goes into effect this fall.
The tuition for in-state students on the Barton County campus students stays the same, but fees for those students will increase by $2 per credit hour. Barton Online tuition also stays the same but fees increase by $5.
International students and out-of-state students will see a tuition increase of $3 per credit hour and the $2 fee increase. The changes at Fort Riley, Leavenworth and Grandview Plaza vary depending on the type of course.
Vice President of Administration Mark Dean reviewed charts that show how Barton’s tuition and fees rank among the 19 Kansas community colleges at this time. In-county tuition and fees currently are $111 per credit hour and all other in-state students pay $118. The college rate is close to the median on all charts except the one for online courses, where Barton and four other colleges show the top rate of $150. However, Dean said this is misleading because of how rates are reported to the Kansas Board of Regents. Ten other colleges show their lowest online rates, but their prices vary and may be higher for some students.
The new rates (tuition and fees) will be $113 for in-county students, $120 for other Kansas students, $147 for out-of-state students, $210 for international students and $155 for Barton Online.
Dean said Barton will probably stay in the mid-range of tuition and fees for Kansas Community college in every category because others will most likely have increases as well.
“In all of these, I would expect we’d stay in the same place, basically,” he said.
Trustees were presented with a second option that would have raised tuition and fees even more, but Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman recommended the small increase, saying the college attempts to keep education affordable.
Other business
The board also approved a consent agenda that included its meeting schedule for next year and hiring two new employees. The schedule is similar to the one used for several years, with a board study session on the second Tuesday of most months and a business meeting on the fourth Tuesday. Meetings are at 4 p.m. in Room F-30 of the Fine Arts Building.
New personnel are groundskeeper Shawn Ward and custodian Brittany Linden, both on the Barton County campus.
The board also heard a Faculty Council report, monitoring report on the “Barton Experience” policy statement (“Student responses will reflect positively on their Barton experience.”), strategic planning report and a report on the three-year plan to create courses that use Open Education Resources. OER courses feature class material that are available at no cost or at low cost, saving the cost of textbooks. Lee Miller, director of Innovation and Compliance at Barton, facilitated the presentation on this project.
A 30-minute executive session was held to discuss a personnel matter, in this case the performance of an employee. After returning to the regular meeting, the board adjourned.
Upcoming events include the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) All-Kansas Academic Team recognition at noon Friday, April 1, at the Courtyard Marriott in Junction City. This will be followed by the Kansas Association of Community College Trustees quarterly meeting.
Barton’s graduation ceremony is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, May 13, in the Gymnasium on campus.
