Letters to Regional Development Association Interim President Jim Witt from Emporia State University President Ken Hush and Flint Hills Technical College President Caron Daugherty earlier this fall indicate concerns about duplication of coursework and services from ESU, as well as the prospect for a forced affiliation with the college.
Affiliation is something Daugherty does not favor, despite a strong relationship for decades with ESU, because she believes it would lead to the college’s absorption into ESU and a much slower response to community needs like the situation facing displaced workers at Tyson Foods and Holiday Resort.
Daugherty also says the relationship between Flint Hills Technical College and Emporia State remains strong with constant communication between the two entities despite this conversation.
Daugherty’s interview with KVOE News this week follows a letter dated Sept. 10 to Regional Development Association Interim President Jim Witt from ESU President Ken Hush that indicated the possibility of a forced affiliation if state legislation developed in the 2024 session returns next year. Hush questioned potential duplication and inefficiency between the two institutes of higher learning, as well as a five-year, $500,000 total allocation from the RDA to FHTC for computerized machine tool needs.
Daugherty followed with her own letter to Witt dated Sept. 20, clarifying Hush’s questions while touting the college’s ability to train its students for current and future workforce needs.
Senate Bill 519 was floated in the Kansas Legislature before dying without a vote last year. It was designed to force affiliations if technical colleges are not affiliated with the nearest larger university — a step the Kansas Board of Regents has said it will not support, although KBOR will not stand in the way of colleges looking to affiliate with nearby universities.
Hush has been unavailable for comment. His letter to Witt mentioned “repetitive” courses, programs and/or student life activities, saying an affiliation involving shared services in areas like human resources, Title IX, legal, Kansas Board of Regents, foundations and other places could lead to $1 million in shared benefits and make enrollment less complicated for students. From her perspective, Daugherty says many if not all of those processes and services are structured differently, so the apparent potential for efficiencies isn’t actually there. On coursework, Daugherty also says the Higher Learning Commission has said the college should have its own education pathways since the 2012 accreditation cycle. Included in those pathways and Hush’s letter: general education.
Letter from Emporia State University President Ken Hush to Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas Interim President Jim Witt
Letter from Flint Hills Technical College President Caron Daugherty to Regional Development of East Central Kansas Interim President Jim Witt
