By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
At Tuesday’s Barton Community College Board of Trustees meeting, Vice
President of Administration Mark Dean notified the board of the tuition and fees changes for the 2023-2024 school year. Barton County residents will pay the
same $113 per credit hour as they did this year. Students from around the state,
outside the state and international students will see $2 or $4 increases per
credit hour.
Dean noted there will be substantial changes to the tuition and fees for high
school students that enroll in their classes, whether on campus or dual credit
at their high school. Barton will significantly drop the cost for high school
students that take their courses to compete with other colleges.
"There are a number of other community colleges that are putting in place different tuition rates for high school students," said Dean. "Some of those colleges are trying to take away our business. They're getting into our area, and we need to get into their area. These rates will allow us to do that."
In the past, if a high school student that lives in Barton County wanted to
enroll in a Barton class, they would pay the same $113 tuition and fees that any other
in-county student would. Sometimes, the college was able to award scholarships
to those high school students to reduce the cost, but Barton will now lower the
tuition and fees to $50 per credit hour for all high school students in Kansas.
"Competitors that are trying to get these high school students put in these types of rates, but then they have to add a $200 or $300 textbook," said Dean. "Add that into their cost. If we can do the low-cost, no-cost textbook, we have a better deal right away."
Dean said the lowered cost encourages more students to take Barton classes, but
also encourages more high schools to contract through Barton for their courses.
Cost per Credit Hour at Barton Community College
In-County 2022-23: $113
In-County 2023-24: $113
In-State 2022-23: $120
In-State 2023-24: $122
Out-of-State 2022-23: $147
Out-of-State 2023-24: $151
International 2022-23: $210
International 2023-24: $214
Out of the 19 community colleges in Kansas, Barton had the 10th cheapest rate for in-county tuition and fees in the 2022-2023 school year. The board will vote on the recommended tuition and fees at the meeting on March 28.