Transferring from Barton County Community College to Kansas State University just got easier for students in three degree programs. In fact, students who start a bachelor’s degree at Barton can finish it without leaving the area.

Barton President Veldon Law and three other administrators from the college traveled to Manhattan on Friday to sign new “2+2” program agreements between Barton and KSU.

Last year, the dietetics program became the first 2+2 degree program developed so a student can transfer an associate’s degree from Barton to a bachelor’s degree program at K-State. Guides outline what courses a student needs to take at each location and when to transfer.

The new agreements approved Friday expand the service to degrees in dietary management, general business with an emphasis in economics and general business with an emphasis in business administration.

"We identify specific program areas at Barton that can transfer to a bachelor’s degree program here,” said Betty Stephens, KSU’s associate vice provost for information technology partnerships and associate dean of the Division of Continuing Education. “We could have multiple planning guides for one K-State degree program.

“The purpose of this agreement is to help non-traditional, place-bound students plan for a bachelor’s degree program that involves both Barton County Community College and K-State,” Stevens said. “The students would have to do it anyway, but now we’re doing the planning n advance. It just makes it easier for students to plan for their bachelor’s degree at K-State now that they can visualize what they need to do and when.”

While the programs don’t involve large numbers of students, it helps those who do need this option, Stevens said. K-State will continue to work with Barton and other community colleges to develop more 2+2 agreements, she said.

“We will be seeing many more of these agreements, not just in western Kansas but throughout the state and outside the state,” Stevens said. “All the community colleges we’ve talked to have been very excited about the idea.”

“Seamless transferability” is only one aspect of the agreement, Barton spokesman Michael Dawes said Friday. “Placebound students here can get a degree and not leave the area.”

After earning their associate’s degree at Barton, the students can use distance education options including online courses to finish their degree.

Dawes agreed with Stevens that more 2+2 agreements are likely to come.

“This is a growing partnership,” he said.

Community Colleges Offering More
Data show Barton County Community College students who transfer to four-year colleges their junior year are prepared for the move academically, Barton spokesman Michael Dawes said.

As reported to the Board of Trustees in November, Barton students who transferred to Emporia State University in 2001 had a grade point average, on average, of 2.79 their junior year while overall juniors at Emporia had a GPA of 2.92. At Fort Hays State University, the transfer students’ average GPA was 3.0, or slightly higher than the 2.76 average for juniors overall. Barton transfer students’ GPAs were also slightly higher than “native” students at Wichita State University. Information for other schools was not available. While these figures may not be conclusive, Dawes noted, “It’s a strong indication that what we’re doing here is getting people on the right track to graduate.”

Now, with four 2+2 degree programs available between Barton and Kansas State University, students can get an associate’s degree at Barton and go on to earn a bachelor’s from KSU in two more years. Whether they move to Manhattan or choose to continue their education online, starting a degree at Barton can save money because credit hours earned at community colleges cost less than those earned at four-year universities.