WKU Students Heading To The Hill; Enrollment Expected To Top 20,000

August 24, 2009
Bowling Green, Ky. - As the first members of the Class of 2013 arrive on the Hill, Western Kentucky University is expecting to pass an enrollment milestone: passing 20,000 students.

More than 2,000 freshmen participating in M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan, a residential orientation program, began moving in today. They will be preparing for the Aug. 31 opening of the fall semester that will likely see more than 20,000 students registered for classes at Kentucky's third largest university.

In addition to more classmates, WKU students will also notice some changes to the campus.

"The start of school brings such energy to the campus, and I'm anxious to greet our new students and get the fall semester underway," WKU President Gary Ransdell said. "WKU has experienced incredible growth in enrollment over the last 12 years, and surpassing 20,000 in total enrollment is a significant milestone for us. I want to compliment our faculty and staff who have worked hard to recruit and retain a record number of students."

Dr. Ransdell said enrollments are up in every category this year - freshmen, returning students, transfers, graduate students and also in online programs. "This is a great boost for our community and the south central Kentucky regional economy as WKU students convene for the 2009-10 academic year," he said.

Dr. Dean Kahler, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, said enrollment is up more than 1,200 over the same period in 2008. That number includes increases of more than 950 undergraduate students and 300 graduate students.

He said growth was "across the board. We are gaining students from all different directions."

WKU's final fall 2008 enrollment was 19,761. Preliminary enrollment numbers for all Kentucky public institutions will be released by the Council on Postsecondary Education on Sept. 28.

Graduate enrollment is projected to be up more than 300 students. Dr. Richard Bowker, Vice President for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies, said the growth can be attributed to several factors, including increasing quality of programs, careful strategic planning, investment of resources and the economy.

"Most important are the efforts of the WKU faculty to recruit, teach and graduate students who succeed in their endeavors," Dr. Bowker said. "Secondly, the increasing quality and diversity of our graduate programs attracts more, and better, graduate students." 

Dr. Bowker said that WKU continues to invest in graduate assistantships and tuition scholarships to attract high-quality students. He added that students often return to the classroom in an economic downturn to become more competitive in the marketplace.