By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Earlier this month, the Kansas Board of Regents released enrollment numbers for colleges for the fall semester. Barton Community College was near the top for increased enrollment with a 15.9% jump from last fall.
Barton President Dr. Marcus Garstecki said while Barton had a lot to be proud of, all community college in Kansas saw an average growth of 5.9%.
"As much as community colleges are competitors, in the end we want to see students choosing to go to college and choosing a higher education path," said Garstecki. "You saw pretty much across the board in the state some really healthy enrollment increases. We like to see that because that's a healthy thing for our state, students and our communities."
The preliminary 20th-day enrollment numbers for the fall pegged Barton with 5,092 students.
"We're seeing the growth is from new programs, new recruitment strategies, awareness, the engagement with faculty and staff," said Garstecki. "The services and experiences and students are having are obviously very positive at Barton."
Barton starts the year with the second-highest percent increase over the past year.