WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The fall enrollment numbers are out for state universities, community colleges, and technical colleges in Kansas. As a whole, the number of students is up over last year.
Wichita State University says it has the highest enrollment in its 128-year history — 17,548 students. That is an increase of 3.7% over last year.
WSU Tech grew by 12.6% to its highest enrollment yet — 5,655 students.
WSU credits a lot of its enrollment success to the Kansas Legislature, which recently invested more than $6 million in the university, allowing for more scholarships.
The University of Kansas says it has its largest freshman class in its history and its highest overall enrollment in 13 years.
The freshman class includes 5,259 new Jayhawks — up 18% from last year.
It brings KU’s overall enrollment to 29,355, the highest since 2010. It’s an increase of 6.2% over last year. This increase includes a 6.7% increase at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses, which are counted together, and a 3.2% increase at KU Medical Center.
Kansas State University says it has 19,745 students at K-State and K-State Veterinary Medicine. K-State’s enrollment grew by .1%, but K-State Veterinary Medicine enrollment decreased by .8% over last year.
However, K-State says its fall 2023 first-time freshman enrollment grew 9%, making the freshman cohort the largest class since strategic enrollment efforts began in 2019. The university also touted in-state enrollment being up 6.8%, out-of-state enrollment rising 15.1%, and transfer student enrollment increasing 2.8%.
Some other state universities saw a decrease in enrollment, including Emporia State University — down 12.5%; Fort Hays State University — down .8%; and Pittsburg State University — down 2.2%.
Fall preliminary enrollment
State Universities
| 2023 | 1 year change | 5 year change | 10 year change | |
| Emporia State University | 4,658 | -12.5% | -19.6% | -22.8% |
| Fort Hays State University | 12,843 | -.8% | -17.3% | -4.4% |
| Kansas State University | 19,269 | .1% | -11.4% | -20.1% |
| Kansas State University-Veterinary Medicine | 476 | -.8% | 2.8% | 2.4% |
| Pittsburg State University | 5,732 | -2.2% | -13.5% | -22.5% |
| University of Kansas | 25,469 | 6.7% | 2.6% | 4.2% |
| University of Kansas Medical Center | 3,886 | 3.2% | 5.2% | 16% |
| Wichita State University | 17,548 | 3.7% | 11.2% | 20.6% |
Municipal University
| 2023 | 1 year change | 5 year change | 10 year change | |
| Washburn University | 5,663 | 3.7% | -13.8% | -18.8% |
| Washburn Institute of Technology | 1,187 | 3.5% | -16.2% | 2.2% |
Community colleges
| 2023 | 1 year change | 5 year change | 10 year change | |
| Allen Community College | 1,817 | -8.3% | -28.5% | -38.5% |
| Barton Community College | 4,393 | 2.9% | -12.9% | -29.7% |
| Butler Community College | 6,574 | -2% | -23.1% | -29.8% |
| Cloud County Community College | 1,686 | 2.1% | -8.3% | -27.4% |
| Coffeyville Community College | 1,428 | -3.1% | -24.8% | -22.7% |
| Colby Community College | 1,375 | -.4% | -2.8% | 4.9% |
| Cowley Community College | 2,166 | -3.2% | -18.9% | -45.4% |
| Dodge City Community College | 1,737 | 2.4% | 12.6% | -2.7% |
| Fort Scott Community College | 1,464 | -2.3% | -20.4% | -24.2% |
| Garden City Community College | 1,919 | .2% | -.1% | -3.9% |
| Highland Community College | 2,182 | -6.7% | -19.2% | -28.2% |
| Hutchinson Community College | 5,070 | .1% | -9% | -17.3% |
| Independence Community College | 821 | 1.5% | -9.8% | -20.4% |
| Johnson County Community College | 17,134 | 3.8% | -6.7% | -13% |
| Kansas City Community College | 4,807 | 2.8% | -18.3% | -26.9% |
| Labette Community College | 1,446 | 3.4% | -29.9% | -8.1% |
| Neosho County Community College | 1,791 | 9% | -9.5% | -32.9% |
| Pratt Community College | 1,153 | -4.1% | -6.6% | -25.2% |
| Seward County Community College | 1,787 | 7.5% | -4.4% | -3.8% |
Technical Colleges
| 2023 | 1 year change | 5 year change | 10 year change | |
| Flint Hills Technical College | 1,639 | 1.8% | 15% | 97% |
| Manhattan Area Technical College | 958 | 4.5% | 23% | 16% |
| North Central Kansas Technical College | 957 | -4.2% | 16.7% | 24.8% |
| Northwest Kansas Technical College | 725 | 8.9% | -11.7% | 15.8% |
| Salina Area Technical College | 1,007 | 17.5% | 28% | 123.3% |
| WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology | 5,655 | 12.6% | 23% | 92.7% |
The Kansas Board of Regents says that, in all, there are 168,422 students enrolled in the state’s public higher education system. That is a 2% increase over last year.
“We are encouraged to see enrollment growth across our system this year,” KBOR President and CEO Blake Flanders said in a news release. “With initiatives such as increased student financial aid, a common general education package, and growing opportunities for students to participate in applied learning and internships, our system has made important strides to increase affordability, access and success and begin to reverse a long trend of declining enrollment. We look forward to continuing this work and serving Kansas families and businesses.”
Click here to see enrollment numbers for the past 10 years. Enrollment numbers and other higher education data may be accessed by clicking here.
