Both Fort Hays State University and NCK Tech saw enrollment decreases for the fall semester.

FHSU's enrollment declined by .8 percent, but officials said enrollment has increased in key areas.

NCK Tech's enrollment decreased by 4.2 percent, but the technical school is still at its second-highest enrollment in 10 years. Some of its key programs have waiting lists and the college is seeking to expand capacity.

"We always want to grow, of course," Eric Burks, NCK Tech president, said. "We are always striving to do that. We had a couple of shifts in online numbers that we weren't expecting."

NCK Tech hit a 10-year high last year with 999 students. The college has grown by 16.7 percent during the last five years and 24.8 percent during the last 10 years.

Fall enrollment at FHSU was 12,843 students and includes students enrolled in on-campus, online and international partner-hosted campus courses.

Despite a continuing decline in Kansas’ rural population and the number of college-going students in Kansas — a number expected to reach 15 percent by 2029 — enrollment at FHSU grew in several key areas, according to an FHSU press release.

Specific areas of growth at FHSU this fall include:

New freshman (up 8 percent)
Students living on campus (up 6 percent)
Graduate student enrollment (up 4 percent)
“Recruiting and retaining students is definitely an ‘all-hands’ effort at Fort Hays State University,” said Dennis King, assistant vice president for enrollment leadership. “We are now in the fourth year of our five-year strategic plan, and we are seeing the plan’s focus on advancing academic excellence, student success, growth, infrastructure, and community and global engagement is delivering the results we targeted at the outset.”

As of Sept. 20 a report from the Kansas Board of Regents showed growth of 2 percent across the Regents system, which includes the state's public universities, community colleges and technical colleges.

Emporia State University was the outlier. Its enrollment dropped 12.5 percent this fall after the university was mired in controversy when it fired tenured faculty.

FHSU officials in a press release issued last week discussed its work to increase enrollment at the university, which has declined 17.3 percent during the last five years from a high of 15,908 students in 2019.

"One clear indicator of a pending enrollment resurgence is the university’s enrollment of new freshmen," the university said in its release.

The increase in new freshmen signals that students and families recognize the distinct value of FHSU’s unique mix of affordability and institution-wide commitment to student success, the release said.

Tuition and fees at FHSU are almost half the national average and the lowest among all Kansas Board of Regents universities.

FHSU’s commitment to student success is evident in the strategic investments the university has made in the quality of the student experience, the release said. One example is the Fischli-Wills Center for Student Success, which opened in 2021. The center unites student recruitment, academic advising, student engagement, and health and wellness services under one roof in the center of campus. The range of affordable new, revamped, and specialty residential living options the university opened during the past decade also contributed to the rise in new freshmen this fall, the university said.

Recent investments in new program development was the driving force behind FHSU’s largest enrollment success this fall, the university said. The Graduate School serves the workforce needs of Kansas by delivering 21 on-campus and online programs, including degree programs in nursing, counseling, school psychology and education.

In April, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly officially signed House Bill 2290, authorizing the establishment of the affiliation between Fort Hays State University, North Central Kansas Technical College, and Northwest Kansas Technical College. As this affiliation process moves forward, the three institutions will begin to integrate an array of student services operations, including enrollment management.

The combined enrollment among the three institutions exceeded 14,500 students.

Burks said he sees the partnership with FHSU as a means to grow enrollment.

"I think it's going to have a positive impact," he said. "We are already partnering a lot with Fort Hays."

He said NCK Tech is trying to align its programs with FHSU so students can start at the college and complete a higher degree at the university.

Burks said the college's construction programs have been strong for at least the last five years. This includes trades such as carpentry, electrical plumbing and HVAC repair.

Some of these programs are at capacity with waiting lists.

The college has seen growth in its new telecommunications program, which is a partnership with Nex-Tech. That program is in its second year.

Nursing enrollment has been stable, but the culinary program has seen a slight decline, Burks said.

NCK Tech has campuses in Beloit and Hays. Historically Beloit had the higher enrollment, but enrollment has shifted with Hays now having more students.

The college has an eye on growth, Burks said.

The college has a new respiratory program that it is starting in cooperation with HaysMed. Burks said the college also is trying to expand its capacity in its construction programs.

The school has launched a $12-million capital campaign to add space for programs that need to expand.

It is also continuing to work with high schools to offer concurrent credit and technical programs.

Retention of associate degree students increased by 11 percent this fall. The college is now at an 83 percent retention rate for all programs.

NCK Tech continues to be ranked one of the top colleges in the nation for completion and placement rates, Burks said.

"I think that helps us with our enrollment," Burks said. "I think students and their families know we have a lot of resources there to help them reach the finish line.

"Our programs aren't easy. I don't want anyone to ever think that, but we also understand the challenges our students face, so we do as much as we can to remove those barriers and help them be successful."




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