photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World Photo; Mackenzie Clark/Journal-World graphic

Enrollment increases and decreases (as compared to 2017) at Kansas Regents universities, by full-time equivalent students, fall 2018

Story updated at 8:05 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1:

Enrollment numbers for full-time students are down at the University of Kansas, according to a preliminary report issued Monday by the Kansas Board of Regents.

KU was one of only two regents universities in the state to see such a decline for the fall 2018 semester. The numbers show the declines were concentrated at KU’s Lawrence campus, but enrollment grew at KU’s medical school and the Edwards Campus in Johnson County.

This year’s numbers continue a decadelong decline in the number of people who are enrolled at KU anywhere other than the medical school. The Lawrence and Edwards campuses have now lost about 2,100 students — or about 8 percent — since the fall semester of 2008, according to KU figures.

KU spokesman Joe Monaco, though, said the numbers aren’t cause to be concerned.

“We have five campuses — Lawrence, Edwards and then KU Medical Center campuses in Salina, Wichita and Kansas City — and some year-to-year fluctuation is expected across each campus, depending on our priorities, trends in higher education, the economy and other factors,” he said.

In fact, KU leaders on Monday were touting a different set of enrollment numbers. In a press release, KU made no mention of the enrollment decline that the Board of Regents reported earlier in the day, but rather highlighted growth in its freshman class, a new record for average ACT scores and high school GPAs for incoming freshmen, and total head count growth for the entire university.

The day produced two different tones from Kansas leaders in higher education. Blake Flanders, president and CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, said statewide enrollment numbers were “mixed,” and said the Regents would continue to look for ways to improve on the number of people enrolling in higher education. KU Chancellor Douglas Girod, though, said the enrollment gains marked a “special year for the University of Kansas.”

The different messages may be because for the first time, KU and the Board of Regents highlighted different enrollment totals.

The Board of Regents moved from the traditional 20th-day head count metric to a full-time equivalency metric, which regents believe provides the best analysis. Instead of counting students, they count credit hours and convert those into an FTE number by using a formula that says the average full-time undergraduate student takes 15 hours in a semester, and the average graduate student takes 12 hours.

Meanwhile, KU used a traditional head count. The head count method shows KU has 28,510 students across all campuses, with an increase of 63 students from last year. That marked the fifth straight year that KU has grown its total head count. It is the highest overall enrollment at KU since 2011.

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That increase, along with new data about graduation rates, student retention rates and average ACT scores, pleased Girod.

“We are pleased to have grown our enrollment for the fifth straight year and to have welcomed the most talented freshmen in history, which is a clear indication that top students want to attend a major research university that offers nationally ranked academic programs and life-changing opportunities,” Girod said in a press release.

Not all the head count numbers, though, were positive. A deeper look at the numbers released Monday show that the head count at the Lawrence campus and the Edwards campus declined compared to last year. Numbers provided by KU show that 24,815 students were enrolled on the KU and Edwards campuses in Fall 2018. That’s down from 24,891 in Fall 2017. KU didn’t provide a number that shows the head count number for just the Lawrence campus, but Monaco did say that the Edwards campus saw enrollment growth. That means the declines in student numbers came from the Lawrence campus, but their exact numbers weren’t clear on Monday afternoon.

Regents statistics

The FTE model used by the Regents showed a slightly steeper decline for the Lawrence and Edwards campuses. The Regents reported that the Lawrence/Edwards campuses had 21,505 FTE students, down 166 from a year ago.

The Regents decided this summer to move the FTE reporting model, and move away from reporting head count totals taken on the 20th day of classes. In a press release, the Regents said the head count model “no longer provides the best analysis of current enrollment patterns.”

The head count method doesn’t account for the significant number of part-time students. With the head count method, a nondegree-seeking student taking a three-hour class, for example, is given as much weight as a full-time student taking 15 hours a semester.

Using the FTE model, the Regents calculated enrollment increases for Kansas State, Wichita State, Emporia State and Fort Hays State; Pittsburg State and KU were the two Regents schools to report declines. Washburn University, which is monitored by the Regents but is funded separately, also posted a decline.

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Also reported on Monday:

• KU’s class of first-time freshmen students grew to 4,164, up 11 students from Fall 2017. That marked the sixth time in seven years that the freshman class has grown in size.

• The retention rate for last year’s freshman class was 83.9 percent, which KU said was the university’s highest retention rate on record.

• The freshman class included 180 international students, which is up from 146 international students a year ago.

• Statewide, the Regents schools had 74,308 FTE students, an increase of 95 students. Community colleges had 41,709 FTE students, a decline of 1,112 students. Technical schools had 5,782 FTE students, an increase of 289 students.

— Journal-World editor Chad Lawhorn contributed to this article.