Fall Enrollment On the Rise For Two-State Region Colleges

Posted October 2, 2023

Updated October 6, 2023

Freshman enrollment is looking up for many four-year institutions in the two-state region as the fall semester continues.

Kansas

Wichita State University reached the highest enrollment in its 128-year history with a headcount of 17,548 students. That is an increase of 3.7 percent from last year’s headcount of 16,921.

Combined enrollment by headcount across all Wichita State University locations for fall 2023 is 23,203, according to the annual data released by the Kansas Board of Regents.

The University of Kansas reports there are 5,259 new freshmen for the fall semester, up 18 percent. University-wide enrollment is sitting at 29,355 an increase of 6.2 percent.

Kansas State University’s fall 2023 first-time freshman enrollment grew by 9 percent with the first-time freshman number, across all campuses, reaching 3,193. That makes this semester’s freshman cohort the largest class since strategic enrollment efforts began in 2019, according to K-State.

Missouri

Missouri State University in Springfield has broken records as well. Freshmen enrollment for the fall is 2,782. With this new class, Missouri State experiences its biggest fall-to-fall increase in history with an increase of 504 students or 22.1 percent, according to Missouri State. Total enrollment for the institution reached 24,224.

More than 5,150 new freshmen joined the University of Missouri, up 3 percent compared to last year, the university reported in August. In addition, MU’s preliminary enrollment total reached 30,667 students.