Barton Community College served 8,394 students in the fall semester of 2013, which is an increase of 272 students from the previous fall semester. On-campus enrollment dropped by 73 students, from 1,899 to 1,826.
Colleges compare enrollment by calculating Full Time Equivalency. The total number of credit hours provided is divided by 15 credit hours, which is the average course load for a full-time student. FTE for the college as a whole increased about 4.2 percent from fall 2012 to fall 2013, to 3,607.
On the Barton County campus, FTE was 1,107, compared to 1,112 the year before – a change of less than one-half of 1 percent.
Increasing enrollment has been one of the primary objectives of the current Barton Board of Trustees and administration, Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman said. It appears 2013-14 will be its sixth consecutive year of attracting new students.
“Growth in enrollment is a sign that our faculty and staff are dedicated to the mission and vision of the institution,” Heilman said at a campus-wide meeting Wednesday morning. “We are in the minority of community colleges showing growth. The majority of community colleges nationwide are experiencing enrollment declines.”
Two-year public institutions collectively saw a drop in enrollment of 3.1 percent nationally, according to NCSResearchCenter.org.
Not only was Barton one of the few to show growth, it was ranked sixth in the nation for fastest-growing mid-sized community colleges from fall 2011 to fall 2012, according to Community College Week and data from the U.S. Department of Education. Neosho County Community College, ranked fifth, was the only other Kansas college in the top 25.

Sources of growth
BCC enrollments come from the campus in Barton County, Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth, as well as two online learning components, BARTonline.org and EduKan.
BARTonline’s growth percentages have consistently been in the double-digits the last few years. An increase of 8.86 percent in students taking courses through BARTonline in fall 2013 versus fall 2012 means the growth trend is still going strong. Early spring semester numbers show that enrollment continues to trend upward into 2014.
Another factor contributing to Barton’s growth is the recently opened Fort Leavenworth campus and service area, which has grown rapidly and steadily since it opened in 2012. It served 304 students in the fall, which is an increase of 158 from the previous fall semester.
A third source of growth is attributed to Kansas Senate Bill 155 legislation. High school students are provided state-sponsored scholarship support for dual enrollment in college technical programs.