KU’s fall enrollment down slightly, still above 30,000

Viewed through the front arches of Spooner Hall is Dyche Hall, right of center. At left, in the distance, is Danforth Chapel and Fraser Hall.

Recent fall enrollment totals at Kansas University:

2002: 28,849
2003: 29,272
2004: 29,590
2005: 29,624
2006: 29,613
2007: 29,260
2008: 30,102
2009: 30,004

Fall 2009 enrollments across the six Kansas regents universities.

Emporia State University 6,314 -1.4 percent
Fort Hays State University 11,308 +11.9 percent
Kansas State University 23,581 +0.3 percent
Pittsburg State University 7,277 +2.1 percent
Kansas University 30,004 -0.3 percent
Wichita State University 14,823 +1.4 percent

Kansas University’s fall enrollment is 30,004 students, down 98 from a year ago, according to figures from the Kansas Board of Regents.

The school lost 173 students at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses, but gained 75 students at its KU Medical Center campuses.

The school now enrolls 26,826 students in Lawrence and Overland Park and 3,178 students at KU Medical Center.

KU had a record fall 2008 enrollment of 30,102. KU’s slight decline in enrollment represents a 0.3 percent drop from the previous year.

Todd Cohen, a university spokesman, said the university’s enrollment had remained stable in difficult economic times, in part because of programs such as KU’s guaranteed tuition plan, which he said remains popular with parents.

He said the university hadn’t done much different from previous years when it came to recruitment of new students — a new Jayhawk Generations program providing scholarships for out-of-state legacy students didn’t begin until very late in the recruitment process, he said.

The university isn’t concerned with the modest overall decline in students, he said.

“When you’re at a record level, at some point you’re going to level off,” Cohen said.

The new freshman class has an average ACT score of 24.7, the second highest total for KU after last year’s 24.8 average score.

Student diversity increased slightly from last year’s then-record totals, with 14.3 percent of incoming freshmen and 12.8 percent overall identifying as American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, African-American or Latino.

Minority enrollment was at 12.7 percent in 2008.

Most other state regents universities stayed within about 2 percent of last year’s totals, according to figures from the Board of Regents, although Fort Hays State added 1,201 students to reach 11,308 — nearly a 12 percent increase.

Much of the increase at Fort Hays State included students in the school’s Virtual College, an Internet-based learning program that serves students from Kansas to China. That program saw 1,161 new students this fall.