See how enrollment has changed at Kentucky’s public colleges in the last 10 years

While statewide college enrollment has declined in the last 10 years, some schools are seeing record-setting enrollment numbers.

Other schools, meanwhile, have seen an overall decline in enrollment. Here’s what enrollment at the public four-year colleges in Kentucky has looked like in the recent years.

Aaron Thompson, president of the Council on Postsecondary Education which oversees Kentucky’s state universities and community and technical colleges, said there are several reasons for changing college enrollment in the state. Population declines mean there are fewer students who are college-aged, and there has also been a drop in the number of non-traditional students enrolling.

For students who are first-generation or low income, there may also be difficulties navigating the college process, Thompson said. They may not have someone to guide them through the application or financial aid process. None of these things popped up overnight, and Thompson said CPE and the state have been working to address them in recent years.

“We’re seeing all of these compound to have an effect on college enrollment,” Thompson said. “We’ve known this in Kentucky, so we were hitting it differently and harder than other states, and it helped us start rebounding faster.”

Enrollment numbers are typically not finalized until several months into the fall semester, after the date when students can drop classes or change their enrollment status. Numbers for the fall 2023 semester are estimates until that point.

Early estimates are showing an increase in overall enrollment from last year, Thompson said.

Universities are listed by their total enrollment size, from largest to smallest. Data was taken from each university’s Fact Book and the Council on Postsecondary Education’s enrollment data, unless otherwise noted.

University of Kentucky

The largest university in the state is one of the schools that has seen record-setting growth in the past two years. UK is expecting between 6,400 and 6,500 freshmen students this fall, its largest first-year class. Total enrollment is expected to set a new record this fall.

Enrollment has been on an upward trajectory in the last 10 years. Total enrollment was 28,928 in 2012-13. Last year, enrollment was 32,710 — a 13% increase.

University of Louisville

The University of Louisville has seen slight enrollment growth in the last 10 years. Enrollment was 23,043 for the fall 2022 semester. Enrollment has fluctuated year-to-year, but that number is up from 22,293 in the 2012-13 academic year.

KCTCS

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System has seen an overall enrollment decline in recent years. In the 2012-13 school year, there were 134,772 students enrolled in all KCTCS locations, according to the system’s database. Last year, there were 101,127.

Jefferson Community and Technical College, in Louisville, and Bluegrass Community and Technical College, in Lexington, have remained the largest two locations throughout that time period.

In 2012-13, there were 19,837 students enrolled at JCTC. There were 16,918 students enrolled last year.

Bluegrass had 17,788 students enrolled 10 years ago. There were 14,764 enrolled last year. BCTC is expecting an increase in enrollment for the fall semester, said Greg Feeny, acting president.

Western Kentucky University

Enrollment at Western Kentucky University has been on an overall decline in the last 10 years, dropping by 20%. Enrollment in 2012 was 21,124. There were 16,495 students enrolled at WKU in 2022.

At a faculty convocation in August, WKU President Timothy Caboni said the university was predicting a 3.1% enrollment increase for the 2023-24 school year. Specific enrollment numbers for the upcoming school year were not announced.

Northern Kentucky University

Northern Kentucky University has seen slight growth in its enrollment in recent years. There were 15,827 students enrolled last year.

In the 2012-13 school year, there were 15,660 students enrolled.

Eastern Kentucky University

EKU is another regional university that has seen an overall enrollment decline in recent years. There were 14,324 students enrolled in the fall 2022 semester.

Ten years ago, there were 15,968 students enrolled.

Murray State University

Like other state universities, Murray State has seen a decrease in enrollment in the last 10 years. There were 9,489 students enrolled at Murray State last year. In 2012, there were 10,832.

Morehead State University

Morehead State University has also experienced enrollment declines. There were 8,810 students enrolled in fall 2022. In 2012, there were 11,172.

Kentucky State University

Kentucky State University has seen a 32% enrollment decrease in the last 10 years. Last year, there were 1,726 students enrolled at KSU. In 2012, there were 2,524.

KSU saw a dramatic drop in student enrollment from 2021 to 2022 of more than 24%. Enrollment decreased from 2,279 to 1,726.