GCCC BOT Approve Financial Audit, 2024-25 Rates, and Buster Boost
[Garden City, KS] February 21, 2024 -- The Garden City Community College Board of Trustees approved the 2022-23 financial audit, the tuition and fee rates for 2024-2025, and the Buster Boost initiative during the regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.
FINANCIAL AUDIT
Lewis, Hooper & Dick, LLC conducted the annual GCCC financial audit and presented an overview. The audit also included the Garden City Endowment Association and the Broncbuster Athletic Association. The 2022-2023 audit resulted in an unmodified opinion, the highest rating available for financial audits. The Board approved accepting the unmodified opinion audit.
ENERGY AUDIT
The Board heard an energy audit presentation from C&C Group. This update included information on the ongoing plan to upgrade and enhance campus HVAC and building control systems. Since September 2023, GCCC has saved over $52,000 since implementing Campus Optimizer technology through C&C Group.
BUSTER BOOST INITIATIVE
As part of ongoing efforts in strategic enrollment management, GCCC is dedicated to exploring innovative approaches to attract and reach students, focusing on the accessibility and affordability principles central to community colleges. Research has shown that high school students who enroll in college have more momentum, take more college credits, transition to college faster, and have higher student success and higher rates of completion.
The Buster Boost initiative is designed for high school students who qualify for free and/or reduced lunch to take non-technical courses at no cost for tuition or student fees. The initiative works to remove barriers of access and affordability and provide a pathway to higher education. Collaboration with service-area schools is underway to determine eligibility, discuss implementation criteria, and ensure seamless execution of the initiative. This initiative aligns with existing dual credit programs, such as Excel in CTE and Direct to High School Scholarships, as part of the comprehensive GCCC EDGE program while making current scholarship allocations stretch further to help more students in the GCCC service area (Finney, Greeley, Hamilton, Kearny, Lane, Scott, and Wichita Counties).
The Board approved the Buster Boost initiative to waive tuition and fee charges for qualifying students to begin in fall 2024.
TUITION AND FEES
Tuition and fee recommendations are based on data analysis such as rates of the other Kansas community colleges, industry trends, and historical costs. GCCC Administration recommended holding tuition flat for all tuition structures for the fourth year. For student fees, the recommendation was a $4 increase. This increase will utilize $2 to offset student scholarships and increase new student scholarship opportunities for dual credit, alumni scholarships, and program scholarships available to students. The remaining $2 increase will be allocated to the Student Center to update equipment and furnishings within the Beth Tedrow Student Center. The GCCC Student Government Association fully supported and endorsed this proposal.
The Board approved the following rates for 2024-2025:
- Finney County tuition and fees-- $123/credit hour
- In-state tuition and fees-- $125 per credit hour
- Border States tuition and fee-- $139 per credit hour
- Out-of-state tuition and fees-- $144 per credit hour
- International tuition and fees-- $162 per credit hour
- Online tuition and fees-- $150 per credit hour
- Service Area SB155 tuition and fees-- $58 per credit hour
- SB155 tuition and fees-- No more than $62.00 per credit hour
- SB155 tuition and fees-- Tuition is waived credit hour fees may be assessed at $62.00 per credit hour
- On-line SB155 tuition and fees-- $89 per credit hour
- Online SB 155 tuition and fees-- No more than $62.00 per credit hour
- Online SB 155 tuition and fees-- Tuition is waived credit hour fees may be assessed at $62.00 per credit hour
- East Unit room rate-- $3,100 per year (held flat)
- West Hall room rate-- $3,200 per year (reflects a $100/year increase)
- Apartment room rate-- $4,300 per year (reflects a $500/year increase to be consistent with housing rates)
- Broncbuster housing-- $4,300 per year (held flat)
- Broncbuster suites-- $4,600 per year (reflects a $100/year increase)
- Married/Family Housing option-- $1,100/month
- 19 Meal Plan-- $3,700 per year (increase of $200/year to reflect a 7% CPI increase)
The Board of Trustees toured the new expansion of the Gary E. Jarmer Technical Annex, which added 8,000 square feet of classroom space for the John Deere Ag Tech program and office space for the Information Technology department.
An executive session was held where no action was taken.
The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 6 p.m. in the Ronald J. Scott Endowment Room inside the GCCC Beth Tedrow Student Center.
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Garden City Community College exists to produce positive contributors to the economic and social well-being of society.