By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
In a way to stay competitive with attracting enrollment from current high school students, Barton Community College approved a new tuition rate of $50 per credit hour for select high school audiences in March 2023. Taking dual credits can give high school students a head start to their collegiate academics.
Heather Morgan serves as the executive director for the Kansas Association of Community Colleges, an organization that lobbies for the best interests of community colleges to state governmental officials. Morgan said there is an emphasis to figure out if high-achieving high school students are using colleges' dual credits to eventually stay in Kansas.
"If someone is studying in general education, are they going into a field that is in need for the State of Kansas?" stated Morgan. "We know we need nurses. We know we need welders and teachers. If someone goes into general education, who is to say they're going into a field that is in demand for the State of Kansas?"
While nothing is finalized, Morgan said there is talk of Kansas legislators discussing a “first 15” program where high school students would be able to take 15 hours of general education courses with no cost. Research is being done on the proposal and to identify if high school students taking college credits have a reason to stay close to home.
"How are we plugging that student into a demand of the Kansas workforce," said Morgan. "How do we make sure our taxpayers are not education students that are leaving to other states. Or maybe they're going into a field without a high demand and can't get a job."
Kansas does boast the Kansas Promise Act, providing scholarships for students to attend Kansas community college and technical colleges in specific fields of study. In exchange for receiving the scholarship, the students agrees to live and work in Kansas for two consecutive years after graduation.