Kansas State University saw a 4 percent drop in enrollment this fall across all campuses, largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Manhattan campus alone saw a 6.1 percent dip in all students, with the majority coming in undergraduate student enrollment which is down 6.9 percent. Overall enrollment was at 20,854, down 865 students from a year ago.
Despite the drop, Provost for Enrollment Management Dr. Karen Goos says they anticipate turning those numbers around next year, with the new Missouri Tuition Match program, providing in-state tuition to qualified Missouri students beginning next fall.
“Our new scholarship plans also are making a difference and helping more students, with more than $46 million awarded to K-State students this academic year,” she said, in a university release Thursday.
Undergraduate enrollment is up on both the Polytechnic campus in Salina and the Olathe campus. Online program enrollment also surged by nearly 11 percent.
Freshman-to-sophomore retention shot up to a record 87.1 percent. Graduation rates also climbed by 5.4 percent. The student retention rate is up 7 percent since the university put plans in place to reach a 90 percent retention rate by 2025.
