As expected, Emporia State University had a slight decrease in enrollment between the fall 2023 and fall 2024 semesters. However, the decrease was smaller than first expected.
Last year, ESU had projected a 5-percent decline, with an ongoing dip stabilizing next fall. The Kansas Board of Regents has announced total enrollment at 4,557 students, a drop of just over 100 students or 2.25 percent.
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Kelly Heine is focusing on a 16-percent increase in new student enrollment, with gains across all categories — thanks to an expanded list of available scholarships and a reduction in fees.
Heine says the goal is to make sure enrollment stabilizes by next fall, but she believes enrollment growth is attainable if current trends hold.
Meanwhile, Flint Hills Technical College is enjoying a 9.5-percent increase in total enrollment and better than six percent in full-time-equivalent enrollment. The college is now just short of 1,800 total students, and reaching or surpassing the 2,000-student mark is definitely possible in the next few years, but President Caron Daugherty says the immediate goal is making sure there is enough space on campus for that growth. There are several programs that are at capacity, both for enrollment and available space, and others are on their way to reaching capacity.
The college has had a nearly 19-percent increase in total enrollment and a better than 2-percent increase in full-time-equivalent enrollment since the 2019 fall semester.
9:10 am Wednesday:
Fall enrollment was down slightly at Emporia State University and up at Flint Hills Technical College.
The Kansas Board of Regents made the official announcement Wednesday morning.
For Emporia State, total enrollment is down 2.25 percent to 4,557 students, a decline of just over 100 students from the fall 2023 semester. ESU has seen a better than 22 percent decline in overall enrollment since the 2019 fall term, but the university says a combination of additional scholarships and reduced or eliminated fees has helped with a significant boost in new student enrollment — up 16 percent overall, with gains seen in all categories. ESU has also reported significant gains in Interdisciplinary Studies, Visual and Performing Arts and The Teachers College.
At Flint Hills Technical College, enrollment was up 9.5 percent to 1,794 students, a gain of over 160 students year-to-year. The college has had a nearly 19-percent increase in enrollment since the 2910 fall semester.
