Bridging the Gap

Kansas institutions partner to grow agricultural opportunities

By Pat Melgares

Photos Courtesy Garden City Community College

Kansas State University has announced a partnership with Garden City Community College that will initially highlight K-State’s bachelor’s degree program in agriculture to help fill what one official has called an “educational desert” in southwest Kansas.

The two institutions – which have nearly 270 years of combined experience in higher education – signed the agreement in late 2024 to help southwest Kansas students work toward a four-year degree at K-State without having to move to Manhattan.

The program is expected to be implemented by fall, 2026.

“There are a lot of potential learners in southwest Kansas with family obligations, or who are fully employed but still want to advance in their career,” said Dan Moser, interim dean of K-State’s College of Agriculture.

“Being able to earn a bachelor’s degree without having to leave their homes in southwest Kansas could mean a lot in terms of career advancement and greater responsibility in their current jobs.”

Statistics indicate that the region’s residents have a disproportionate number of bachelor’s degrees compared to other areas of Kansas. In southwest Kansas, an estimated 17.9% of residents hold a bachelor’s degree, compared to the state average of 33.9%.

“Southwest Kansas has been a four-year educational desert for far too long,” said Garden City Mayor Manuel Ortiz. “(This partnership) marks a significant milestone in our community’s progress toward achieving ambitious goals.”

K-State President Richard Linton said creating more opportunities for education is at the core of what the university does.

“At Kansas State, our land-grant mission is to put education within reach for all Kansans, no matter where they live or what their background may be,” said K-State President Richard Linton. “By bringing high-quality bachelor’s degree programs right into Kansans’ hometowns, we are not only offering the opportunity to earn a degree, but also empowering a bright future for the community – and, ultimately, the entire state of Kansas.”

Diversified agriculture

Moser said a change by the Kansas Board of Regents in the past year helped to boost the partnership. Most four-year degrees at Kansas schools require 120 hours of credit. Previously, only 60 credits could come from two-year schools.

“That’s now changed to 75 credits from two-year schools, and that’s particularly good for agriculture because if you think about what our students experience, they want to have a lot of breadth in their education,” Moser said. “We want them to take not just agriculture courses, but also courses in biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, statistics, accounting and more. For our students, they can take 75 credits of those 100 and 200 level courses and then their last three semesters can be more focused in whatever area they’re most interested in.”

The GCCC/K-State bachelor’s degree will be called Diversified Agriculture, and will offer students the opportunity to emphasize a particular area of interest, such as crop production, animal management, agribusiness or another area of study.

“This should give students enough flexibility so that they can get a more general degree, but be able to take specific electives and options,” Moser said. “Our goal will be to have the highest demand courses available in a live video stream so that a student in Garden City can meet in real time with classmates in Manhattan.”

Moser said other possibilities include having a K-State instructor on-site in Garden City to help with the delivery of some courses, including laboratory experiences. Students may also have options to complete labs at local farms or other businesses.

Future opportunities in education, health

Moser said the College of Agriculture will be the first to offer its four-year degree in partnership with GCCC but is not likely to be the university’s last. Officials at both schools are particularly interested in offering degrees in education and health and human sciences.

“There’s a lot of interest in secondary education, particularly around STEM education,” Moser said. “That area of the state has had a hard time finding physics, biology and chemistry teachers, and degrees in health and human sciences could also help to support careers in such areas as food, nutrition, dietetics, hospitality management, financial planning, aging and more.”

“When companies and corporations think about where they want to build investments and grow operations, there are a lot of things they look into, but one of them is the available workforce and employee retention,” Moser said.

He adds: “To be able to have students in southwest Kansas with family roots in those communities attain these degrees and go to work for these industries… I think that’s going to be good for everybody.”

Garden City’s Ortiz, expressing his gratitude for the partnership, said K-State’s leaders “aren’t just writing fancy words in a strategic plan” in helping Kansas communities.

Ortiz said, “They say and mean it…and they are doing it.”