Kentucky undergraduate enrollment increases across all sectors and student populations

February 18, 2025

From fall 2023 to fall 2024, Kentucky experienced strong growth in undergraduate enrollment, rebounding above pre-pandemic levels. KCTCS saw enrollment rise 6.8% over the previous year, while public universities increased by 3.9% and private institutions affiliated with the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities (AIKCU) increased by 3.7%.

In addition to total undergraduate enrollment, the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) tracks enrollment among targeted populations. Enrollment growth among underrepresented minority students continued to outpace overall gains, rising 13.3% at KCTCS, 11.2% at AIKCU institutions and 7.9% at public universities. Enrollment among low-income students, defined as Pell-eligible, rose by 7.5% at KCTCS and 7.0% at public universities after four years of subsequent declines.

“Kentucky’s colleges and universities have fully recovered from enrollment disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Aaron Thompson, CPE president. “I’m pleased to report that Kentucky’s enrollment gains in fall 2024 were greater than the national average for both the public two-year and four-year sectors.”

Other good news in CPE’s enrollment brief includes:

• A 2.0% increase in graduate enrollment at public universities
• Significant increases in high school dual credit enrollment (up 6.7% at KCTCS and 5.7% at public universities), which is associated with higher college-going rates and better academic performance in college.
• A rise in non-traditional student enrollment (ages 25-64), which is critical for reaching Kentucky’s educational attainment goal of 60% of working-age adults with a college credential by the year 2030. Adult undergraduate enrollment increased 9.7% at KCTCS and 8.4% at public universities.

The entire report can be accessed at https://cpe.ky.gov/data/reports/2024enrollmentreport.pdf.