FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2022

Regents focus on opportunities to expand enrollment

(Topeka, Kan.) – The Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) received an annual enrollment report this week and approved a request from Wichita State University to expand two of the university’s tuition programs that have been extremely successful in increasing enrollment.

The 2022 enrollment report showed that the systemwide full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment has declined by 12 percent since 2011. State university FTE enrollment has declined 3.9 percent during the same timeframe.

“To meet the workforce needs of businesses, we must recruit more students and retain them in Kansas,” said KBOR Chair Cheryl Harrison-Lee. “Higher education is changing. This requires our system to implement innovative solutions if we are to help more students gain access to a college education.”

KBOR approved the expansion of two programs designed to address declining enrollment. Wichita State’s Shocker Select and Shocker City programs offer tuition discounts to non-resident students in approved cities and states. These programs have helped the university expand enrollment of students from Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas by 260 percent since the fall of 2015.

“Shocker Select and Shocker City have a proven track record of recruiting new students to Kansas and retaining them here after graduation,” said Chair Harrison-Lee. “It’s imperative that we connect students with Kansas employers through opportunities such as internships and applied learning. Wichita State has been remarkably successful with these efforts as more than three quarters of its graduates remain in Kansas after graduation.”

The Shocker City program allows out-of-state students from approved cities to enroll at Wichita State and pay in-state tuition. The Shocker Select program gives students from approved states to enroll at 150 percent of resident tuition. The Regents unanimously approved the expansion of both programs in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska.

For more information, please contact Matt Keith at (785) 430-4237 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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About the Kansas Board of Regents
The nine-member Kansas Board of Regents is the governing board of the state’s six universities and the statewide coordinating board for the state’s 32 public higher education institutions (six state universities, one municipal university, nineteen community colleges, and six technical colleges). In addition, the Board administers the state’s student financial aid, adult education, high school equivalency, and career and technical education programs. Private proprietary schools and out-of-state institutions are authorized by the Kansas Board of Regents to operate in Kansas.