KU achieves record-high enrollment for third straight year

Colleagues,

I am writing to share good news about enrollment at the University of Kansas.

For the third consecutive year, KU has achieved its highest overall enrollment in history, according to annual data released today by the Kansas Board of Regents.

KU’s overall enrollment has grown 0.9% to 31,464, surpassing the previous all-time mark of 31,169 set last year. This includes a 0.5 % increase at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses and a 3.9 % increase at KU Medical Center, both of which now have record-high enrollments.

This record-setting enrollment comes as KU continues to recruit large freshman classes and retain students at record-high rates. Specifically, this year’s freshman class is the fourth largest in KU history at 4,834 students. At the same time, KU retained a record-high 88.1% of last year’s freshmen and also achieved record-high four-year and five-year graduation rates.

I encourage you to read our full announcement for more details.

Our success is because of you

Three consecutive years of record enrollment is something we should be proud of. It reflects the continued strength of KU’s academic reputation and the commitment of our faculty and staff to creating an environment where students want to come, stay and earn their degrees.

Of course, that success reflects the hard work you do every day to recruit students and support them as they pursue their degrees. Whether your work is in education, service, research, advising, donor relations, healthcare, facility maintenance, athletics or marketing, your efforts help make KU a place where students want to learn and succeed. Each of you has contributed to this success, and for that, I thank you.

We are also grateful to the alumni, donors, industry leaders and elected officials who continue to support KU and help us create opportunities for our students. These partnerships are vital to our university and remind us that KU and higher education are valued by people throughout our state and communities.

Maintaining focus

We should take a moment to celebrate this achievement, but we also know that the higher education landscape continues to change. Demographic trends are expected to put increasing pressure on enrollment nationally in the years ahead. That makes it especially important for KU to remain proactive and intentional in how we recruit and support students.

That’s why we must continue to pursue our strategic priorities in alignment with the Kansas Board of Regents, the needs of Kansas businesses and communities, and our aspirations as a member of the Association of American Universities. To this end, our One KU initiative and Strategic Framework are helping us coordinate our work across KU and focus on priorities that matter most. If we maintain this focus, I am confident KU will continue to succeed.

Looking ahead to next year

While we celebrate this year’s enrollment, our work to recruit the next class of Jayhawks is already underway. If you know a prospective student who is interested in becoming a Jayhawk, please encourage them to apply by the Dec. 1 scholarship deadline. Additionally, let them know about Kansas Apply Free Days from Oct. 5-9 and our annual Crimson & Blue Day on Oct. 16.

Thank you again for everything you do to bring talented students to KU and help them succeed once they get here.

Respectfully,

Doug

Douglas A. Girod
Chancellor