Emporia State University is seeing results from investments in academic programs, student experience and enhanced scholarships.
The Kansas Board of Regents released 20th-day enrollment numbers for fall 2024 today, and Emporia State reported a 16% increase in new student enrollment compared to fall 2023. These gains are in all categories — freshmen (6%), transfers (18%) and graduate (7%).
The university also reported significant enrollment gains in three units: Interdisciplinary Studies (11%), School of Visual and Performing Arts (9%) and The Teachers College (9%).
Student retention from first year to second year also improved by 8% from fall 2023, the largest one-year increase recorded for the school and the second-highest one-year retention rate.
Emporia State’s overall enrollment for fall 2024 is 4,557 total students, down 2% from 2023. As part of the three-year investment-based transformation plan, the university forecasted impact to student enrollment. At this time last year, ESU projected that fall 2024 overall enrollment would be down 5% before plateauing and stabilizing in fall 2025.
As Emporia State continues to move forward amidst the changing landscape of higher education, it continues to attack the cost of education through enhanced scholarships that have helped drive enrollment in specific programs. It also continues to invest in strike zone programs for careers that meet the needs and wants of both students and the state of Kansas. These include education, nursing, health sciences, business, technology, cybersecurity and library sciences.