Photo from the Council on Postsecondary Education
By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Kentucky public colleges and universities made “significant” gains during the 2023-24 school year as more students are enrolled in, and graduated from, higher education institutions across the commonwealth.
The Council on Postsecondary Education’s latest progress report states enrollment at Kentucky Community and Technical College System campuses — which includes Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College’s campus — climbed 6.8 percent from fall 2023 to fall 2024, climbing 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,” the council report stated. “[A]lthough financial aid data is not yet available for fall 2024, low-income enrollment grew 7.5 percent at Kentucky Community and Technical College System campuses and 7 percent at public universities from fall 2022 to fall 2023.”
Council President Aaron Thompson said the progress report was encouraging.
“It’s encouraging to see such strong enrollment growth, especially given recent declines in FAFSA completion,” Thompson said. “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%, marking an all-time high for the 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 1.0 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.
Despite the positive and “encouraging” enrollment and graduation percentages, the affordability of public universities is “diminishing,” the report stated.
“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,” the report stated. “An 11-point drop in FAFSA completion rates — 88.6% to 77.6% — was due in part to difficulties caused by the federal government’s launch of a new FAFSA system.”
The full report can be read here.
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