June 28, 2018
Story by Brandon Steinert
Photo by Micah Oelze
Barton Community College graduates can now enjoy seamless transfer of credits to Fort Hays State University (FHSU) toward a bachelor’s degree for almost 20 majors, thanks to a new Memorandum of Understanding signed by the presidents of each institution Thursday morning on Barton’s campus.
Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman said Barton has always worked well with FHSU, but the agreement represents a new level of clarity for students as they move from Barton to the university level.
“These transfer and articulation agreements represent tremendous progress,” he said. “I think more of our students will be experiencing Fort Hays State University.”
FHSU President Dr. Tisa Mason said Barton graduates are historically well adjusted to college and ready for the four-year experience.
“Send them our way,” she said. “We know they are prepared for our institution because of the care and the attention that your faculty and staff give them.”
Mason said the agreement is a tremendous asset for the economy of western Kansas and its residents.
“This increases opportunities for those who are filling key workforce needs in important areas,” she said. “By clearly mapping the courses, our students can more swiftly move through the curriculum and get into a fantastic career.”
One of the 19 programs mentioned specifically at the ceremony is the bachelor’s degree in elementary education, which can be completed in only three years after high school. Barton and FHSU are calling it “degree in three,” a concept the administrators hope to duplicate for other programs.
Barton has numerous transfer agreements with universities throughout the state and beyond. The most recent besides FHSU is Columbia College in Missouri, which will accept up to 81 credit hours toward a bachelor’s degree in business or nursing.
Barton’s only partner institution that rivals the new agreement with FHSU is Kansas State University, with 23 transfer programs called “2+2” agreements, many of which are online.
Visit GoBarton.com/Transfer to see all of Barton’s transfer agreements.
The new agreement creates seamless transfer opportunities for the following programs:
- Accounting (BBA)
- Agricultural Business (BS)
- Biology & Secondary Ed (BS)
- Computer Science (BS)
- Criminal Justice (BS)
- Early Childhood Unified (BS)
- Elementary Education (BS)
- Elementary Education "degree in three" (BS)
- Finance (BBA)
- Finance w/ Banking Concentration (BBA)
- Health Studies (BS)
- Int’l Business & Economics (BBA)
- Management (BBA)
- Marketing (BBA)
- Mathematics & Secondary Ed (BS)
- Nursing (RN to BSN)
- Psychology (BS)
- Social Work (BSW)
- Technology Leadership (BS)