Barton Community College is proposing new certificate programs that could help people seeking careers through the Hazardous Materials Management or Emergency Management/Homeland Security programs become more marketable to prospective employers. Lindsay Holmes, director of the program at Barton’s Grandview Plaza campus, described the proposals to college trustees at their monthly study session on Tuesday.

For the hazmat program, the college plans to create two level 1 certificate options: Environmental Regulations Specialist I and Environmental Management Professional. Both are 18 credit-hour programs. The college will continue to offer the level 2 Hazardous Material Management certificate for 39 hours but is proposing it become a 34-hour program. The college also offers an associate degree.

The certificates are “completely stackable,” Holmes said, meaning each of the certificate options builds into the next and leads to the completion of the CERT2 and Associate of Applied Science. No new courses were created; this is simply a regrouping to provide multiple exit points for students.

“We’re looking at getting more students exited and employed, and more (who complete a program),” Holmes said. It is hoped that this will also make students more marketable, she added.

The Emergency Management program proposals are similar. In both cases, the said, her department worked with a career advisory committee to create two first-level certificates by regrouping the classes. They also meet Kansas Board of Regents requirements so the certificates can be stacked on the way to an associate degree.

Opportunities for high school students

High school students may want to consider some of the entry-level courses in these fields, Holmes said. “One hundred percent of the classes are online.”

Some of them are “SB 155 classes,” Holmes said. Excel in CTE (formerly Senate Bill 155), was passed into law in 2012. Among other things, it provides state tuition reimbursement for high school students enrolled in college-level Career Technical Education courses.

“We don’t have a lot of high school students but the advisory committee suggests getting young people into the field,” she said. With an aging workforce leading to increased turnover as people retire, younger employees are needed. “We’re not actively marketing to high schools but it is definitely on the radar,” she said.

Vice President of Instruction Elaine Simmons said it has been some time since the college proposed a new certificate. This proposal will come before the board of trustees at the next business meeting for formal approval and then it must be approved by the Kansas Board of Regents.

High school partnerships

Another topic at Tuesday’s BCC Board of Trustees study session also dealt with providing education to high school students. Karly Little, coordinator of Community Education, talked about Barton’s high school partnerships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The big change for Barton was that none of the 14 partner high schools in the college’s service area started school on the date originallyscheduled. This required rescheduling college classes happening at the high schools.

With later high school start dates, students were allowed to enroll online before they arrived at the buildings.

“We reformatted classes to better align with high schools,” Little said. “When they shifted, we shifted. It was greatly appreciated.”

Meanwhile, the college saw changes to its Boost Scholarship program. This needs-based scholarship was previously based on free/reduced meal eligibility only but is now based on TRIO Federal income guidelines, Little said. With this change, she hopes more students will qualify for the scholarships.

She said there was also a silver lining in the pandemic adjustments.

“I’ve had more student involvement than ever before,” she said, noting students are showing greater interest in the process and getting more involved in their own efforts in preparing for college.