Fall enrollment total includes record gains

KU's fall 2003 enrollment hit a record high and set new marks for the number of Kansas residents and retention of first-year undergraduates. The numbers also showed that efforts to recruit and retain more underrepresented students at KU are paying off.

Overall, enrollment rose 423, or 1.5 percent, to 29,272 students, eclipsing the record set in 1992. KU also drew a record 19,993 Kansas residents, up 500 from last year and once again more than any other university in the state. Each of the state's 105 counties have students enrolled at KU.

For the second consecutive year KU witnessed record-breaking recruitment and retention of minority students. The overall number of students in four minority groups—African-American, Native American, Hispanic and Asian-rose to 3,281, an increase of 316 students over fall 2002, and the largest increase on record. Minority students in the first-time freshman class numbered 520, an increase of 70 students, or 15.6 percent.

In addition, retention of first-year minority students improved. Of the minority students from KU's 2002 freshman class, 81.7 percent returned this fall, an increase of almost 2 percentage points over the previous year and up sharply from 71.2 percent five years ago. The one-year retention rate for returning members of the 2002 freshman class was nearly 82 percent, the best on record.

"We're especially pleased to draw a record number of Kansas students and see another strong gain in first-year retention," said Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success for the Lawrence campus.

Roney noted that KU continues to see enrollment growth even with recent tuition increases.

"Our top priority has been to address financial aid needs," she said. "We've devoted 20 percent of our tuition increase to need-based aid for deserving students. On the Lawrence campus, that's been a $5.2 million increase over two years, and I think we're seeing the results in our outstanding enrollment."

KU enrolled a first-time freshman class of 4,000-plus students for the fourth consecutive year. The freshman class increased by 66 students over fall 2002 to 4,140 freshmen.

Enrollment at the KU Medical Center rose 2.8 percent over the previous year to 2,458.

"This is about more than rising enrollments," said Janet Murguia, executive vice chancellor for university relations. "KU is committed to attracting a richer, more diverse mix of students to our campuses. We're proud of the growing sense of community and record of student success we're building here."

Officials in the KU Office of Multicultural Affairs say KU is expanding its recruiting, making the campus more welcoming and bulking up several strong academic mentoring programs.

KU's network of academic-based programs, leadership opportunities and career counseling programs is raising the University's profile. In December, KU was selected to Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine's Publisher's Picks of colleges and universities that enable Hispanic students to succeed.

KU's HAWK Link, a student-of-color retention program, a year ago was cited by Noel-Levitz, an operating division of Sallie Mae, as one of the top three such mentoring programs in the nation.

And KU's Multicultural Scholars Program this fall was expanded from five academic units to eight. The programs-African-American studies, architecture, business, education, human development and family life, journalism, languages and humanities, and pharmacy-enroll about 80 students.