Pitt State sees gains in enrollment, transfers, retention

For the fourth year in a row, Pittsburg State University has seen modest gains in freshman enrollment, new transfer students, and retention of first-year students, and strong gains in the persistence of sophomores to juniors - proof that strategies put in place in the past few years are making a difference.

Freshman enrollment exceeds last year's class by 16 students, for a total of 935. New transfer students total 395, or 15 more than Fall 2023. Retention of first-year students also grew to 78 percent, and the persistence of sophomores to their junior year is up nearly 5 percent.

Total enrollment is 5,774-- an increase over last year's 5,732.

These figures were among the preliminary 20thDay enrollment figures released by the Kansas Board of Regents this week. The numbers are welcome after a period of decline for not just Pitt State, but universities nationwide.

"These are more than just statistics," said President Dan Shipp. "These numbers represent individual student lives, and with a college degree, each of those students is going to be able to pursue a career and contribute to our community, our region, our state, in a meaningful way."

The numbers are a reflection of strategies implemented by staff, faculty, and administrators in the past few years, Shipp said. Among them:

• • The new Great Gorilla Scholarship Programradically grew the size of academic achievement awards and extended them to four years.
• • The automatic awarding of Associate of Arts degreesas students earn them protects their investment as they go, and, when they graduate with their four-year degree, they have two credentials for the price of one. More than 1,000 have been awarded since February.
• • The newly opened H.W. Smith Student Success Centerprovides students with a one-stop support shop from their freshman through senior years, including the offices of First Year Programs, Academic Advising, Career Development, and more.
• • A newly formed Hispanic Advisory Councilwith representatives from the campus and community is helping to identify and overcome cultural barriers that might stand in the way of students seeking higher education.

• •Historic levels of state, federal, and private fundinghave led to more scholarships for our students, the upcoming construction of a new Kelce College of Business and new housing in the Besse Hotel in downtown Pittsburg, the creation of a criminal science education and research center in partnership with the KBI, upgrades to existing science labs, and expansion of the Tyler Research Center.
• •University Housing & Residence Lifeis expanding ways to more fully engage students living in campus housing with learning communities, activities, and more.
• • The new Telus Health 24-7 online counseling and the Bryant Student Health Center's partnership with Community Health Centerof Southeast Kansas have provided students with greater access for mental and physical health services.

The university, along with all of higher education, is preparing for the long-expected "enrollment cliff," a result of lower birth rates during the 2007-2009 recession.

"During the last recession, birthrates dropped in the U.S.," said Vice President of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Karl Stumo. "Combined with an overall declining college-going rate, the lower number of students will be felt across higher education most acutely over the next five years."

Implementing strategies to overcome this is Pitt State's top priority, says Shipp.

"Not only is it extremely important for us to retain the students we already have with end-to-end support, we also must ensure our campus is a place for anyone who seeks to make their life better," said Shipp.

To do that, he said, requires focusing on degrees and certificate pathways for high-demand careers, keeping college affordable, making the campus attractive and accessible to many demographics, and increasing the university's research footprint in areas critical to the success of Kansas.

The university also is assessing the demand and growth capacity of academic programs to help define enrollment and research goals.

"This work, combined with new student recruitment processes, are putting us on a solid path for the future," said Stumo. "It's exciting to see that it's working, and over time the impact will be that students' lives will be changed for the better."

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