Historic enrollment speaks to WSU’s commitment to students and the community
Dr. Rick Muma, president
The year 1989 was a big one: The Shocker baseball team won the College World Series, downtown Wichita got a big boost with the building of the Epic Center high-rise, and Wichita State University achieved its highest ever enrollment with 17,419 students. Until now.
In September, the Kansas Board of Regents announced its fall enrollment data, and Wichita State came in at (drumroll, please) 17,548 Shockers! And when we include WSU Tech’s numbers, total enrollment across all locations is 23,203.
While our success is not entirely unexpected, it’s a remarkable achievement. I couldn’t be more thankful for the work everyone in Shocker Nation has done to get us where we are today.
The enrollment reports include granular data with interesting metrics to help us truly understand who our students are and how we can support their academic and professional goals. There are a few bits of information that I’m particularly pleased with for 2023.
Student persistence: Fall-to-fall persistence among undergraduate first-time, full-time freshmen returning to Wichita State has risen by 2.8%, marking a significant milestone that underscores our commitment to guiding our students toward success. This increase has been largely driven by our Student Success and Persistence initiative, which we launched last year. Statistics about student persistence get to the core of whether we’re meeting our responsibility to our students and our community. They reflect our role as responsible stewards of the trust that our students put in us when they choose Wichita State and whether we’re helping them achieve their academic goals and potential.
Out-of-state students: New students from Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas are up by 4.8% — a direct result of WSU’s Shocker City and Shocker Select programs that offers in-state or reduced tuition to students in 13 other states. This means that the word is getting out about Wichita State’s reputation for excellence, and it’s also an important metric that indicates that we’re attracting talent to the state of Kansas. Furthermore, approximately half of these students choose to stay in Kansas after graduation, highlighting the program's effectiveness in retaining talent within the state.
First-gen students: The report also showed growth in first-generation undergraduate freshmen, bringing the overall first-generation population to 48.8%. This speaks to our efforts around making higher education accessible and affordable. It’s about creating a culture that welcomes and supports those who are bravely daring to be the first in their family to attend college. I’ve always thought that’s something we do well at Wichita State, and this report confirms that.
All of this is to say that Wichita State is heading in the right direction, and we’ll continue to build upon our success and learn from our challenges. Our university's journey has been a remarkable one; and, together, we will shape the future of education and opportunity in Kansas and beyond.
Go Shockers!
Sincerely,
Dr. Rick Muma
President of Wichita State University