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Enrollment drops 8.1 percent across Kansas colleges, 2.8 percent at KU

By Madison Parry

The Kansas Board of Regents released a report on Thursday reporting a drop in enrollment of just over 8 percent for colleges and universities in the state, the University of Kansas showing a 2.8 percent drop, largely due to a decline in international students and first-time freshman.

Colleges and universities across the nation and region have taken a hard hit from COVID-19, The Kansas Board of Regents released a report on Thursday showing that across the state of Kansas, colleges and universities combined have experienced an 8.1 percent drop in enrollment this fall.

One of the larger universities located within the Kansas City region includes the University of Kansas, which reported a 2.8 percent drop in enrollment.

A decline in enrollment at the university has been largely attributed to declines in international students and first-time freshmen, according to a Thursday news release from the University of Kansas.

The one-year retention rate for last year’s freshman class is 85.7 percent – the second-highest rate in KU history – while the two-year retention rate for the 2018 freshmen is an all-time high 77.1 percent, the release said.

While the 2.8 percent drop does not reveal the university to be among the hardest hit, it nonetheless has caused somewhat-unanticipated challenges.

“Given the historic challenges the pandemic has presented students and families, we are pleased to have experienced such a relatively modest decline in our enrollment,” University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas A. Girod said. “To have limited the decline to just 2.8 percent speaks volumes of the great work our faculty and staff have done to create a flexible, dynamic educational experience that meets the needs of our students during such an uncertain time.”

Much like other colleges and universities, a revenue shortfall is the most prominent impact the enrollment decline has had, which Girod said presents not just an immediate but long-term challenge.

“Though we are pleased with this year’s enrollment numbers, KU still faces an unprecedented revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year that will necessitate difficult cost-savings measures in the months ahead,” Girod said in the release. “This year’s decline in international students and first-time freshmen – and projected challenges in international recruitment for the foreseeable future – will continue to present severe revenue challenges for years to come.”