Fall 2024 preliminary enrollment gains reported to CPE Board

November 25, 2024

At its Nov. 22 meeting, CPE announced a 3.9 percent increase in undergraduate enrollment at Kentucky public universities and a 4.9 percent increase in community and technical college enrollment for the 2024 fall semester. Campuses saw record enrollments for first-time, minority and dual credit students, and enrollment of non-traditional adult students, a key demographic for meeting Kentucky’s educational attainment goal, grew 8 percent after several years of declines.

Kentucky’s private, non-profit sector increased undergraduate enrollment by 6.1 percent, according to Mason Dyer, president of the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities. Dyer’s presentation also highlighted gains in undergraduate and graduate degree production.

The Council approved the following action items:

• A new Bachelor of Science in communication sciences and disorders at the University of Louisville, and a new Bachelor of Science in pharmaceutical science at the University of Kentucky.
• Proposed revisions to the key performance indicators and strategic agenda document as part of the mid-term review conducted this year.
• An interim capital project at Morehead State University to raze and replace a student residence hall.
• Renovations to the welding lab at Maysville Community and Technical College’s Montgomery campus.
• Revisions to the statewide asset preservation pool guidelines.

In other business, the Council:

• Received a report from Dr. Ryan Quarles, president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, about recommendations to enhance the system’s effectiveness, as directed by Senate Joint Resolution 179.
• Received the report of the Academic and Strategic Initiatives Committee, which included an update on a new college access and career planning website for Kentucky called Futuriti, launching in 2025.
• Received the report of the Finance Committee, which described recent actions by the Performance Funding Work Group and the proposed tuition-setting timeline and process for academic year 2025-26.
• Received the report of the Executive Committee, which reviewed a CPE report on the agency’s major activities and expenditures in fiscal years 2023 and 2024, as directed by Senate Bill 91 of the 2024 regular session.
• Heard presentations from consultants Ernst and Young on a study to transform Hazard Community and Technical College into a residential, four-year public institution (per Senate Joint Resolution 132), and Deloitte on the feasibility of expanding postbaccalaureate degree offerings at comprehensive universities (per Senate Joint Resolution 170). These occurred at the work session the previous day.
• Received a summary of the Committee on Equal Opportunities’ October meeting, at which potential changes to the statewide diversity planning process were discussed.
• Swore in two new board members, Sean Garber, CEO of Algar, Inc. (Louisville) and student representative Macy Waddle (University of Louisville).

Council meeting materials are available here. The next Council meeting will be held on Jan. 31, 2025.