Butler Community College Adapts to New KBOR Guidelines, Enhancing Access to Higher Education for Local Students

The Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) has announced new academic reforms to ease the transition from community colleges to universities in Kansas. These changes, effective from fall 2024, aim to simplify the credit transfer process, aligning with academic policies in other U.S. states. The reforms are expected to expand general education options that will transfer across all Kansas universities.

Butler Community College has adjusted its academic programs to meet KBOR's new guidelines. Dr. Phil Speary, a senior academic official at Butler, noted that the faculty has revised the curriculum to ensure a smoother enrollment process for students following the new academic tracks from the next academic year.

A significant curriculum update is the alteration of the mathematics requirement. Previously, college algebra was mandatory for many programs. Now, recognizing the challenges students face with algebra, KBOR has removed this requirement for certain non-STEM pathways. Courses like contemporary math will replace college algebra, aiming to lower academic barriers.

The restructuring introduces 'GE buckets,' a standardized framework categorizing courses into clusters. This setup is designed to help students understand how their credits align with their educational goals, potentially making course selection more straightforward and efficient.

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