Students who transfer from Barton Community College to Wichita State University before completing their associate degrees may still be able to graduate from BCC, Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman said Thursday.
Heilman told BCC trustees he signed a memorandum of understanding with WSU for a “reverse transfer agreement” that allows students to transfer credits from WSU back to BCC to complete their associate degree while working toward their bachelor’s degree. Barton is looking at a similar agreement with Fort Hays State University.
Under the agreement, when a Barton student transfers to WSU, that student will be notified when he or she has earned enough college credit to complete the associate degree.
Last year WSU signed a similar agreement with Butler Community College. According to the Wichita Eagle’s report on that agreement, eligible WSU students will have: 1. transferred 45 credits from Butler (or a combination of accumulated hours from other accredited institutions); 2. completed 15 or more credits at Wichita State; 3. met residency requirements for a Butler degree; and 4. indicated their willingness to participate in reverse transfer.
BCC Vice President of Instruction and Student Services Dr. Penny Quinn said she expects to see more agreements of this nature and it will help raise the graduation rate at community colleges. This agreement will also have benefits for the students, Quinn said. “It’s very helpful for students who are seeking employment while they’re still in school.”

Entrepreneurship Certificate
At Thursday’s student session, BCC trustees also heard about a new Entrepreneurship Certificate program the college hopes to offer. Jane Howard, executive director of Business Technology & Community Education, and Kathy Boeger, business/accounting instructor and coordinator, said the 18-hour course of study includes six classes in areas such as business management, customer service and general accounting or bookkeeping. All of the courses in the certificate program are also part of the college’s Business Management & Leadership Associate of Applied Science degree.
“Two new classes are ready to be offered,” Boeger said. They are “Introduction to Entrepreneurship” and “Entrepreneurship I.”
The college’s advisory board has found there’s a lot of interest in a program of this kind, Howard said. The associate degree can be completed entirely online, she added.
In other business Thursday, trustees reviewed the list of faculty members being considered for 2013-14 contracts and those resigning or retiring, and those eligible for tenure; Dean Mark Dean provided a financial report; and Heilman and Dean said the eduKan online education consortium has submitted its annual audit. It was a clean audit that showed no concerns, and the trustees will be asked to approve it at the next board meeting.