By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Kentucky’s public colleges and universities made significant gains in undergraduate enrollment and graduation rates, according to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education’s (CPE) latest progress report released Monday.
The report, which details postsecondary performance in the 2023-24 school year, notes that enrollment at Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) campuses climbed 6.8 percent from fall 2023 to fall 2024, from 78,771 to 84,122 students. Undergraduate enrollment at public universities was up 3.9 percent over the same period, from 95,472 to 99,233 students.
Efforts to improve college access for underrepresented populations are paying off, according to the CPE. Although financial aid data is not yet available for fall 2024, low-income enrollment grew 7.5 percent at KCTCS and 7 percent at public universities from fall 2022 to fall 2023.
“It’s encouraging to see such strong enrollment growth, especially given recent declines in FAFSA completion,” said Aaron Thompson, CPE president. “Making postsecondary education accessible to all Kentuckians, regardless of income or circumstance, is one of my primary objectives.”
The report also shows that more students entering two- or four-year institutions are completing a degree or credential within three or six years. The three-year graduation rate for KCTCS jumped 3 percentage points to 47.2 percent, while the six-year graduation rate for public universities rose 1.3 points to 61.2 percent, marking an all-time high for that sector.
Other positive outcomes for the 2023-24 academic year include:
• A 7.5 percent increase in degrees and credentials awarded to KCTCS students. (However, bachelor’s degrees awarded by public universities were down one percent).
• A 1.4 percent increase in graduate degrees awarded by public universities.
• A 6.9 percent decrease in unmet financial need for KCTCS students.
One negative in the report was that the affordability of Kentucky’s public universities diminished. The average amount of unmet financial need for university students increased 9.2 percent, from $9,359 the previous year to $10,225 in 2023-24. An 11-point drop in FAFSA completion rates (88.6 percent to 77.6 percent) was due in part to difficulties caused by the federal government’s launch of a new FAFSA system.
The full report is available on CPE’s website at cpe.ky.gov.