Kansas State University

MANHATTAN — Spring enrollment at Kansas State University's Manhattan campus is at an all-time high, and the diversity of the campus's student body continues to grow.

For spring 2015, the Manhattan campus enrollment is 20,038, up from 19,969 in spring 2014. The increase includes more undergraduates, more multicultural students and more international students.

Pat Bosco, vice president for student life and dean of students, credits the Manhattan campus enrollment increase to university programs targeting retention, diversity and student success, as well as dedicated faculty and staff.

"These successes would not have been possible without a team effort, including our outstanding faculty, academic deans, advisers, student life professionals — especially admissions — and our donors, whose support is shown in record gifts, including more student scholarship opportunities," Bosco said.

Kansas State University remains the No. 1 choice among high school seniors in Kansas, with the Manhattan campus home to the majority of the university's undergraduates. For spring 2015, undergraduate enrollment on the campus is 17,103, up from 16,961 a year ago.

"Our freshmen classes continue to get stronger each year, which is reflected by our increasing freshmen-to-sophomore student retention rate," Bosco said. "This year's freshmen class, of which the majority attends the Manhattan campus, had an average ACT composite score of 24.1, the highest in the university's history. The number of freshmen with a composite ACT score of 29 also is growing, while the number of students dismissed or placed on academic warning is shrinking. All that speaks to a university that truly cares about student success."

The student body on the Manhattan campus includes 1,129 Hispanic/Latino students, which is up from 1,063 last spring. African-American, Asian and multiracial student enrollment is up this spring as well.

"It takes a massive and continuous effort to grow multicultural student enrollments," said Myra Gordon, associate provost for the university's Office of Diversity. "For example, with corporate support, we are able to implement very organized targeted recruitment and retention efforts affecting thousands of young people. With support from the Kansas Department for Children and Families, we are able to work directly with 800 multicultural high school students and their counselors, sponsors and teachers. The enrollment numbers when reported are very simple, but the effort to achieve them is very complex, very labor intensive and very necessary to get the job done."

Also growing is the number of international students on the Manhattan campus. This spring's international enrollment of 2,109 is up from 2,048 from spring 2014.

"With 2,190 international students at K-State in total, including 2,109 on the Manhattan campus, we are not only at record high numbers for a spring semester, but also at record high percentages for fall semesters as well," said Marcelo Sabates, associate provost for international programs. "In fact, this semester we have crossed, for the first time ever, the very significant 10 percent threshold for international student enrollment, with international students accounting for 10.5 percent of students on the Manhattan campus and 10.6 percent at the university as a whole. This is a historic milestone that aligns with our 2025 goal of being a top global university."

Bosco also noted that as enrollment grows on the Manhattan campus, so do its facilities. Construction is underway on Wefald Hall, the new residence hall and dining center; the expansion of the engineering complex; and the new College of Business Administration building. Starting soon will be the renovation of East Stadium as the new Berney Family Welcome Center and the K-State Student Union renovation.