By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Barton Community College Board of Trustees approved tuition and fee increases for the 2026 academic year and hope to generate $456,729 in additional revenue from the increases.
Tuition remains the same for students that live in Barton County, but fees will increase $2, bumping the per credit hour price to $117 for in-county students. Students residing outside of Barton County, outside of Kansas and outside of the country will see increases of $5 per credit hour.
International students’ have the highest rates at $223, but Barton Vice President of Administration Mark Dean said there is a balancing act when charging enough and also staying competitive with area colleges.
"You can charge more for out-of-state and international, but there is a tipping point," said Dean. "It affects who comes here. Those international students or out-of-state students are going to look at that. That is going to help them determine where they are going."
For the 2025 school year, Barton has the 7th highest tuition and fees for international students of the 19 community colleges in Kansas. For students from Kansas, but outside of Barton County, Barton has the 6th lowest rates.
Trustees Chairman Mike Johnson said the college wants to look out for the taxpayers when setting prices.
"From my perspective, we want to stay competitive but be careful that we're charging enough," said Johnson. "Our goal here is definitely not to put a bigger burden on the taxpayer. That's why we have to increase the student cost. It makes sense with this year's uncertainty on the state's funding."
The tuition and fee increases will go in effect for the 2025 fall semester.