Sixth Blog Entry – Kansas Public Higher Education Service Areas
In prior entries I have mentioned the matter of service areas and the impact that this State policy presents to public higher education institutions. For details pertaining to the matter of service areas, please see the Kansas Board of Regents historical narrative.
You will note that each sector of Kansas public higher education has an assigned service area map – universities, community colleges, and technical colleges. Barton shares parts of its service area with North Central Kansas Technical College and Salina Area Technical College.
Service areas for community colleges were first identified by the Board of Education and the service area maps for the two year sector have been accepted and incorporated in subsequent legislative statutes. Maintenance of the service area structure is the on-going responsibility of KBOR and since 2004, service areas have been evaluated on four occasions.
Service areas are recognized as a source for maintaining institutional well-being and the means to develop tailored services benefitting the immediate populations/communities/businesses. However, with the passage of time, there have been changes to population, commerce, and technology. These changes, and others, have altered the dynamics; by which service areas were first introduced. As communicated in the previous blog, changing population trends are impacting student enrollment outcomes State wide. Not only are community colleges seeking to overcome declining enrollment and the limitations of the immediate service area, technical colleges and universities are also facing this dilemma.
Institutions that are “locked” to a designated service area are limited in their options for overcoming the decline in enrollment. The question is whether the current service area format developed in the 1970s still meet the needs of Kansans 50 years later.