KU News Release

Enrollment data shows KU attracts diverse, dedicated students

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas continues to attract the best and brightest students, as the entering first-time freshman class matched last year’s record average ACT composite score of 24.6, fall enrollment records released today show.

Additionally, KU marked another year of record minority enrollment, with a 1 percent increase over 2006. Among the student body, 3,654 identified themselves as Asian, African-American, Hispanic or American Indian/Alaskan Native. International student enrollment was 1,754, a 2.8 percent increase over fall 2006.

“KU remains a draw for a diverse mix of talented students,” said Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “The university will continue to attract the best and the brightest as word gets out about the Four-Year Tuition Compact, which gives freshmen and their families the ability to make financial plans without worry.”

The tuition compact, approved in June by the Kansas Board of Regents, fixes the per-credit-hour tuition rate for first-time freshmen for four calendar years, the time it takes for a student taking 16 credit hours a semester to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. All but four KU bachelor’s degree programs can be completed in that time.

The KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., also showed gains in minority enrollment, with a 9.8 percent increase over 2006. Overall enrollment at the medical center set a record at 2,918.

“The University of Kansas Medical Center is proud of its continued commitment to training physicians, nurses and other health professionals for Kansas,” said Barbara Atkinson, executive vice chancellor of the KU Medical Center and dean of the School of Medicine.

KU’s overall enrollment remained stable at 29,260, which is 1.2 percent below last year. Much of the decline can be attributed to more rigorous application of academic standards in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. These standards led to the dismissal of 884 students last year, about 350 more than the year before.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.