FROM THE EDITOR | KSU enrollment report something to take seriously

As The Mercury reported, that represents a decrease of 507 students from the fall 2021 total enrollment figure of 20,229.

That enrollment has been sliding is not news. The number has been on a decline for eight years in a row. K-State reached a high in 2014 with 24,766. That’s a drop of more than 5,000 students since then.

Perhaps we couldn’t expect enrollment to grow indefinitely. But I don’t think in 2014 we would have expected it to fall this far for this long.

The news wasn’t all bad, and K-State officials, not surprisingly, focused on the high points: new freshman enrollment grew by nearly 3%, and new graduate enrollment was slightly up.

Those are good indicators. And I note, too, that there seems to be some success in stanching the bleeding. The 2.5% decrease between 2021 and 2022 is smaller than in recent years. Total enrollment declined about 4% in 2020 and 3% in 2021.

For what it’s worth, the other Kansas Board of Regents schools posted mixed results. KU fared slightly better, falling by 0.2% (47 students) to 27,638. And Wichita State actually increased by 5%.

Manhattan is a quintessential college town, and as such, K-State is central to the health of the local economy. Nearly everything in this town fares better if K-State succeeds.

We know K-State officials are working hard to address the problem with task forces and people whose entire jobs are to stem the flow.

K-State said it’s looking to provide more scholarship opportunities, for instance, and expanding in-state tuition for some students. That’s a good start. Tuition is a big consideration for prospective students, and raising fees is likely to have the opposite of the desired effect.

We hope K-State officials will continue to try new and creative strategies for retaining and recruiting students.

We’re all rooting for you.