From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

Contact: Joe Monaco, Office of Public Affairs, 785-864-7100, [email protected], @UnivOfKansas
KU welcomes largest freshman class in history, grows enrollment to highest level since 2010

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has its largest freshman class in history and its highest overall enrollment in 13 years, according to annual data released today.

The record-breaking freshman class includes 5,259 new Jayhawks – a jump of 18% from last year – surpassing the 2008 class as the largest in KU history.

Beyond the freshman class, KU’s overall enrollment has grown 6.2% to 29,355, the highest mark since 2010. This increase includes a 6.7% increase at the Lawrence and Edwards campuses (which are counted together) and a 3.2% increase at KU Medical Center.

“We are pleased to welcome this historic freshman class and to have grown enrollment to the highest level in years,” said Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. “These numbers demonstrate that talented students from across the state and nation see the benefit of attending a top research institution like KU to prepare for their lives and careers. Additionally, these numbers speak to the hard work our faculty and staff do to recruit talented students and then support them so they can succeed here and earn their degrees.”

Size, talent and diversity
In addition to its historic size, this year’s freshman class is talented and diverse. The class boasts an average high school GPA of 3.65 — just .01 off the all-time mark set in 2021 and 2022. Minority freshman headcount is up 14.8% from last year and is now the highest on record.

Moreover, these first-year Jayhawks are entering fields that benefit the Kansas economy. This year, all-time high numbers of freshmen are enrolled in the university’s School of Business, School of Education & Human Sciences, School of Engineering and School of Architecture & Design.

“It’s one thing to grow in size,” Girod said, “but we are especially proud to have grown with talented, diverse students who are poised to address Kansas’ workforce needs in high-impact fields. Kansas employers look to KU as an engine of economic growth, and these freshmen will help us fulfill that role.”

KU leaders attribute the historic class to the university’s academic reputation and course offerings, recruitment strategies, nationwide network of donors and alumni, athletics profile and financial support from Kansas lawmakers. Additionally, unique factors during the past year benefited recruitment, including the return of KU football to national prominence, the development of the Jayhawk Welcome Center as a best-in-class facility to host prospective students and the infusion of $21 million in need-based student financial aid for public universities from Gov. Laura Kelly and the Kansas Legislature.

Retention and graduation rates
Today’s data also include strong retention and graduation rates. This year, KU retained 85.1% of last year’s freshmen — the highest rate since 2019. Additionally, this year’s four-, five- and six-year graduation rates are all record-highs.

“New student recruitment often grabs the headlines, but equally important to our mission and our overall enrollment is ensuring that we support these students once they’re here so they can earn their degrees,” Girod said. “That’s why we must remain committed to improving the student experience through enhancements to teaching, curriculum development, advising, health care, financial aid and other areas of importance to students.”

Additional highlights
1. The freshman class saw growth in both in-state and out-of-state student headcount. Compared to last year, this year’s class is up 13.8% in in-state freshmen and 24% in out-of-state freshmen.
2. Minority students comprise 25.7% of the KU population, which is an increase of 9.4% and the highest percentage on record.
3. There are an all-time high 1,924 veterans, active duty and military-connected students for fall 2023, up from 1,504 from last year.
4. The School of Professional Studies at the Edwards Campus experienced a 13% increase in student credit hours compared to last fall. Its programs supported by the Johnson County Education Research Triangle were up 7.9%. Growth is seen in both long-standing and new workforce-oriented programs.

Maintaining focus
Girod said KU must continue working to overcome challenges facing higher education.

“This is a banner year for KU, and it’s important to take a moment to celebrate and be proud of the work we’ve done,” he said. “That said, we must continue our efforts to recruit and retain top students and create a university they want to attend. The reality is, higher education is facing some strong headwinds, and enrollments nationally are expected to drop in the coming years. That’s why we must continue to seek ways to improve our university through our strategic priorities, which align with the Kansas Board of Regents’ strategic plan, the needs of Kansas businesses and communities, and our broader aspirations as one of the nation’s leading research institutions.”

-30-
————————————————————————

KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
Fax: 785-864-3339
[email protected]
http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs

From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu

Headlines

Contact: Jen Humphrey, Life Span Institute, 785-864-6621, [email protected], @kulifespan
KU project aims to identify risk factors for toddlers with autism who may remain minimally verbal
LAWRENCE — University of Kansas researchers at the Life Span Institute are working to identify risk factors for toddlers with autism who may remain minimally verbal as they enter school age.
While children with autism are likely to have communication delays, most of these children will eventually begin to speak on their own. About a third will remain minimally verbal.
“We’re trying to figure out, of the kids that are identified with autism early, who goes on to develop language compared to who stays minimally verbal?” said Nancy Brady, professor and chair at the KU Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences & Disorders.
The five-year project is led by Brady with researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt University Medical Center and funded with a $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Ultimately, the study may provide guidance for therapists to predict which children will remain minimally verbal and benefit most from intensive language intervention at earlier ages.
Suzanne Martell, the project coordinator working with Brady on this research and a former special education teacher, added that minimally verbal children without interventions or access to alternative communication tools are not getting what they need.
“That’s the plainest way to put it,” Martell said. “So, if we can identify quickly and early and —even if they don’t access verbal language — we get robust communication procedures in place, then we can start training teachers on that.”
One challenge for researchers in this study is finding children younger than age 3 who have an autism diagnosis. While autism can be reliably identified as early as 18 months (about 1 ½ half years), long waiting lists can delay this finding for many families. For this reason, the study includes evaluation for families who haven’t yet been able to obtain a diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder. Testing locations for the study are available in Lawrence, Topeka and the Greater Kansas City area; parents and caregivers can contact the study coordinators to learn more.
As part of the study, investigators will watch children interact with a parent during play to evaluate four different areas: joint attention, comprehension, gesture use and vocalization.
Joint attention occurs when children focus on objects or events in their environments with a communicative partner, such as passing a ball back and forth or looking at pages of a book with someone. Challenges in joint attention is an early sign of autism in children.
Comprehension measures receptive communication skills — or understanding — while gestures and vocalization can identify a child’s attempt at communication even without verbal skills. Investigators are also looking at vocalization to learn if production of vowel or consonant sounds will predict verbal language skills.
Investigators said being able to predict verbal delays related to autism will help improve the child’s future and well-being.
“If the kids can’t communicate competently, their behavior will reflect that frustration, and because of that, kids are even more likely to be isolated and segregated,” Brady said. “Kids that don’t develop language are going to have a much harder time in school.
“And especially if they stay minimally verbal, they’re going to have a really hard time getting a job or continuing education after high school,” Brady said.
While therapeutic interventions are not a part of this study, being able to understand children’s needs at an early age will help parents and caregivers advocate for early interventions in the future and provide researchers direction on designing new interventions.
“Being able to get robust communication in place for kids who were at risk of not developing spoken language is just going to improve outcomes,” said Olivia Boorom, licensed speech-language pathologist and graduate student working on the study. “This is positive knowledge to have at a young age.”

-30-
————————————————————————

KU News Service
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 785-864-3256
Fax: 785-864-3339
[email protected]
http://www.news.ku.edu

Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations, [email protected]

Today’s News is a free service from the Office of Public Affairs