Topeka ? The racial and ethnic makeup of student body populations on state university campuses in Kansas has changed little over the last six years, according to a new report provided to the Kansas Board of Regents.

While the Hispanic and Latino population on campuses has measurable growth and now makes up 6.6 percent of all enrollment at state universities, the percentage of students identified as African-American has not changed, and remains at just 4.1 percent.

Jean Redeker, vice president of academic affairs for the Board of Regents, presented those numbers to the board during its meeting last week in Wichita.

“Each of the universities reaches out to targeted populations,” she said during a telephone interview Monday. “They’re having increasing success with the Hispanic population. That population in our state is trending up. So as those numbers trend up, so do the enrollments of Hispanic and Latino students, which is great. In terms of African-Americans, it has been very steady over the years.”

According to Census Bureau figures, both of those groups are under-represented on Kansas college campuses. Hispanics and Latinos, for example, now make up 11.6 percent of the population in Kansas while African-Americans make up 6.2 percent.

Redeker said there are efforts underway at each campus to improve the diversity of their student bodies.

“Universities do have a number of recruitment efforts going on for all segments,” she added. “Certainly in terms of race and ethnicity, but also in terms of different types of backgrounds and students in terms of diversity. That would include rural and urban students.”

Meanwhile, overall enrollment has also remained relatively flat over the last six years. From academic years 2011 to 2016, according to the report, undergraduate enrollment grew only 1.2 percent, to 63,182, on a full-time equivalent basis, while graduate enrollment grew 1.8 percent, to 16,276.

The actual headcount enrollment actually declined slightly over that period, by 0.2 percent for undergraduates, and 3.2 percent for graduate students, indicating that while there are fewer students on campus, those students are enrolling in more hours of credit.

The biggest decline has occurred among Kansas residents. Enrollment among them fell by nearly 6,000, or 7.7 percent, during the six-year period, while enrollment among non-residents fell by only 441 students, or 1.4 percent.

Those numbers could be troubling because as part of its long-range strategic plan called Foresight 2020, the board has set for itself a goal of increasing the percentage of people in Kansas who have post-secondary degrees or certificates.

Redeker said that despite declining enrollment at the state universities, the total volume of “credentials” awarded throughout the higher education system, which includes community colleges and technical schools, has been growing.

In one year alone, from 2015 to 2016, she said, the total number of credentials awarded grew 1.2 percent.

“That number overall has been trending up from 2010 through 2016,” she said.