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DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Dodge City Community College Board of Trustees approved a proposal that would eventually give administrative control of the school to Fort Hays State University, a first step in a process that could take several years.
The board voted Tuesday to proceed with a plan that would create an Institute of Applied Technology on the Dodge City campus, with Fort Hays State also offering some four-year degree programs. The proposal must still be approved by the Kansas Board of Regents, the state Legislature and the governor, The Dodge City Daily Globe reported (http://bit.ly/1hY9F1c).
The vote came at a sometimes contentious meeting before a large crowd. Critics, including some faculty members, blasted what they said was secrecy surrounding the planning, with some saying they only learned of the final plan on Saturday.
Marsha Ewy, the wife of Rep. John Ewy, a Republican from Jetmore who was a longtime instructor at the school, said her husband had been included in previous discussions between the administration, academic officials and legislators, until "he asked too many questions, and he wasn't asked to any more meetings."
She said the vote should have been delayed until the public had more time to consider it.
Shane Bangerter, a Board of Regents member, said the board was running out of time to agree to the proposal.
"What we have here is an opportunity that's going to exist for a few months. We need to think really long and very hard if this is something this community wants to do or not do. What we have is an opportunity to take what we have and enhance it by a factor of three or four times," Bangerter said.
Scott Thompson, president of the Faculty Association, said the secretive process made the Dodge City faculty deeply skeptical of the final plan.
"This could have been a win-win," Thompson said. "We haven't been involved in any of this stuff at all."
Faculty is concerned about their employment, how their benefits might change and how the proposal might affect students, he said.
If the plan is approved and tuition is similar to Fort Hays University, Dodge City students' costs would go from about $85 per credit hour to nearly $150.
In their statement, the faculty questioned whether the college would be able to continue to be a low-cost, open enrollment institution for a diverse student body, or continue providing remedial instruction for students.
"The DCCC faculty certainly sees the potential advantage to the community and students in transitioning our community college to a four-year institution. However, we believe that the Board's proposal could only be strengthened by full discussion and consensus throughout the community before action is taken," the statement concludes.
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Information from: The Dodge City (Kan.) Globe, http://www.dodgeglobe.com
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