KU News Release

KU spring enrollment at record levels

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas continues to set spring enrollment records, as data released today shows high marks for KU’s Lawrence and medical center campuses and in minority student enrollment.

The report also shows a 2.4 percent increase in Kansas residents on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses, the largest percentage and head count increase for a spring semester for the past 25 years.

The overall enrollment for spring 2009 is 28,453, an increase of 2.1 percent from last year and an all-time high for spring semesters. Minority student enrollment increased 4.9 percent overall to a spring record of 12.6 percent of total enrollment.

“The university continues to attract a talented, diverse student body,” said Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “Students recognize the value of a KU education.”

Enrollment at the Lawrence campus and the Edwards Campus in Overland Park was up 1.9 percent to 25,412. The KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., with a clinical campus in Wichita, saw an increase of 3.9 percent to 3,041, its seventh consecutive increase. More than 400 students take a majority of their courses at the School of Medicine-Wichita campus.

The medical center’s increase was led by a 10 percent jump in the School of Nursing, reflecting the university’s efforts to reduce the shortage of nurses in the state.

International enrollment saw a substantial increase for spring, too, growing by 6 percent to 1,763 on the Lawrence and Edwards campuses.

Edwards Campus officials saw a surge of interest in certain programs — 22 percent in business, 14 percent in journalism, 13 percent in engineering and 6 percent in social welfare — and attributed it to interest in earning a degree to prepare for the tight job market.

Rob Watkins, who moved to Kansas City for a job but was recently laid off, is an engineering graduate student at the Edwards Campus.

“I decided being proactive, and going back to school was a way to increase my experience and make myself marketable for future jobs,” said Watkins.

Total KU spring enrollment since 1995:

Spring 2009: 28,453
Spring 2008: 27,876
Spring 2007: 27,875
Spring 2006: 27,994
Spring 2005: 27,890
Spring 2004: 27,772
Spring 2003: 27,463
Spring 2002: 26,894
Spring 2001: 26,857
Spring 2000: 26,545
Spring 1999: 26,297
Spring 1998: 26,214
Spring 1997: 25,755
Spring 1996: 26,261
Spring 1995: 26,127

-30-

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.