The Kansas Board of Regents released enrollment numbers for Kansas higher education institutions Wednesday.
According to the Fall Preliminary Enrollment Summary, Emporia State enrollment went down by 666 students, or a 12.5 percent enrollment reduction, for the fall 2023 semester’s student headcount. Only three other state universities saw reductions in enrollment from last year: Pittsburg State University, Kansas State University-Veterinary Medicine, and Fort Hays State University. Respectively, these universities saw 2.2 percent, 0.8 percent, and 0.8 percent reductions in enrollment, making ESU’s enrollment numbers for the fall of 2023 a statistical outlier.
Kansas University, Wichita State, KU Medical and Kansas State University all saw enrollment increases at 6.7 percent, 3.7 percent, 3.2 percent, and 0.1 percent respectively. Overall, state university enrollment increased by 1.7 percent.
ESU’s enrollment numbers occur in light of a major academic restructuring and nationally declining enrollment trends in four-year public universities which are expected to begin a serious decline around 2025. In an open letter shared with everyone at ESU, Emporia State President Ken Hush wrote “During our transformation, Emporia State will have declining enrollment before stabilizing in 2025.”
As Emporia State hedges its bets on its new academic restructuring paying dividends in the future, the University of Kansas saw their fall 2023 enrollment numbers grow to their highest levels since 2010. Dr. Douglas A. Girod, Chancellor of KU, highlighted the importance of ensuring reduced financial burdens and improved curriculum for students in addition to increasing enrollment numbers in his statement on KU’s enrollment numbers.
President Ken Hush, in contextualizing enrollment numbers, said “Enrollment, while important, is just part of the story. The rest of the story is what it costs to operate the university. Enrollment numbers hold little significance unless they are compared to expenses.”
Since 2020, the bulk of national, four-year institution enrollment decline has been at highly selective and competitive universities. Less selective universities with high admission rates, such as ESU, saw a total population increase of approximately 4.2% between 2020 and 2022 compared to ESU’s approximate 20.5% enrollment decrease between 2020 and 2023.
