By SALINA POST
Fall enrollment has been good for two Salina higher education institutions.
Salina Technical College set another enrollment record, while Kansas State University Salina Aerospace and Technology reported its fourth consecutive year for enrollment growth.
Today is the fall 20th day enrollment reporting day for all Kansas Board of Regents affiliated institutions.
Salina Tech
Salina Tech has 852 students, up from 697 on the 20th day in 2020 – a 22.2 percent increase, according to information provided by the college this morning.
Because nearly every higher education institution experienced enrollment decreases in the 2020-21 academic year, the first full academic year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Salina Tech President Greg Nichols said that he was looking back two years, to the 2019-20 school year, to gauge the results.
Compared to the 2019-20, Salina Tech headcount is up 7.7 percent, from 791 to 852, and credit hours are up 6.5 percent, from 6,541 to 6,970.
Additionally, compared to the fall of 2016, when Salina Tech earned its accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission, headcount is up 46.9 percent, from 580 to 852, and credit hours are up 25.9 percent, from 5,535 to 6,970, the college noted in a news release.
While new programs, such as practical nursing and associate degree nursing, are fueling some of the growth, Salina Tech also is seeing more students in long-standing programs.
“We’re all very pleased with the numbers,” Nichols said. “But there are always challenges that come with growth – parking is becoming an issue, and we’re working to develop a plan to ensure campus facilities are used efficiently.”
During the past summer, Salina Tech was able to increase its parking when it gained ownership of its campus and buildings from Salina USD 305. Additionally, the campus gained parking space this past summer with the demolition of Building G, which had housed the diesel and automotive tech programs in the 1980s and 1990s, but had been vacant for several years.
Salina Tech isn't resting on its laurels, however. Nichols said he expects new programs to bring additional students to campus. The college is launching an Early Childhood Education program in January. The Fire Science program, which had been housed at Salina South High School for the past three years, has been moved on campus, opening it up for adults and high school students outside Salina.
K-State Salina
K-State Salina credits its personalized approach for its enrollment increase.
"We know our personalized approach to education helps students be successful," said Christopher Smith, executive director of enrollment management and student engagement. "We saw huge increases in applications from Saline County, which increased by 54 percent this year, and an increase of 40 percent in first-generation students. We also saw an increase in both in-state and out-of-state applications, 84 percent and 39 percent respectively."
In addition to four years of overall enrollment increases, K-State Salina also is experiencing four consecutive years of growth in its freshmen population, the campus noted in a news release. This year's freshman class is 141, up 22 percent from 2020, and transfer student enrollment increased by 114 percent. The two on-campus suite-style residence halls are once again at capacity for the third consecutive year.
"This has been an exciting year for our campus," said Alysia Starkey, CEO and dean. "The aerospace and technology industries are hiring graduates at record pace and our enrollment management team, faculty and staff are working hard to keep up with demand. It is a great time to start a career in the industries we serve."
K-State Salina provides degrees for in-demand careers in aviation, advanced manufacturing, automation and technology, and much-needed career fields in Kansas like social work. The campus focuses on real-world education and uses 71 percent of its learning space for lab or hands-on learning, according to information provided by the campus.
The programs that saw the largest growth this year were in engineering technology and aviation. Engineering technology degrees increased in enrollment by 89 percent, with strong growth in electrical computer engineering technology and mechanical engineering technology. The aviation maintenance management program also increased 55 percent and the professional pilot program continued with record enrollment for the third year in a row, K-State Salina noted in a news release.
Other Kansas Board of Regents enrollment numbers
Nearly all of the state universities experienced enrollment declines, according to information from the Kansas Board of Regents. Following are this fall's headcount totals compared to fall 2020 as provided by the Kansas Board of Regents.
●Emporia State University, 5,615, down 3.7 percent
●Fort Hays State University, 14,104, down 6.2 percent
●Kansas State University, 19,753, down 3.1 percent
●Kansas State University-Veterinary Medicine, 476, down 0.2 percent
●Pittsburg State University, 6,017, down 6 percent
●University of Kansas, 23,958, flat
●University of Kansas Medical Center, 3,727, up 2 percent
●Wichita State University, 16,097, up 3.5 percent
Additionally, a number of Kansas community colleges experienced decreased enrollment as of the 20th day of classes. In our area, Cloud County Community College's headcount enrollment was 1,531, down 3.7 percent.