Kennesaw State has seen several semesters in a row of positive enrollment, but the university’s changes in acceptance and enrollment rates over the last decade have changed the student body makeup.
KSU’s most dramatic changes in enrollment across the 10-year period were in total enrollment and acceptance rates.
In total, KSU had 5,810 new students enrolled in the Fall 2011 term. The Fall 2021 semester welcomed 12,840 new Owls into the nest. That makes a nearly 220% increase in enrollment over the last decade.
In the Fall of 2011, KSU enrolled a grand total of 24,175 students. Ten years and a 170% increase in enrollment later, the Fall 2021 semester enrolled a total of 41,181 students.
2011’s student body was mostly evenly distributed across each class, excluding graduate and joint enrollment students, with an average of 5,510 students per class. Seniors were the largest group at 6,701 students.
2021 paints a much different picture; class sizes are much more freshman-heavy. With an average of 9,439 students per class, the freshman class stood out with 11,650 students.
However, KSU’s acceptance rates have changed dramatically in the same decade to accommodate for the record-breaking intake of new students. In 2011, the acceptance rate for incoming freshmen was a clean 50%. Last year, the acceptance rate for the same group of students was 82%.
It is important to note that KSU’s yield rate in 2021 was 41%, meaning that only 8,628 of the 16,975 accepted freshmen actually enrolled at KSU. The 2011 data sheet reflects a 31% yield for freshman enrollment; 2,880 of 9,191 freshman applications in 2011 resulted in a student’s enrollment.
Transfer acceptance and retention rates tell a similar story. 2011 saw a 64% acceptance rate and a 50% enrollment rate to welcome 2,130 new transfer students. At a 67% acceptance rate with 71% enrollment, the Fall 2021 semester saw 2,217 new transfers from the 4,633 applications submitted.
Between the Fall 2020 and Fall 2021 terms, KSU saw a 592 increase in beginner freshmen enrollment. New transfer students and new graduate student enrollment saw a slight decrease across the same time frame, respectively with 260 and 48 students. Dual enrollment students, however, added an additional 273 students compared to Fall 2020.
From 2011 to 2012, KSU welcomed 2,880 beginning freshmen and 543 graduate students, respectively a mere 12 and nine student decrease from the previous year. Joint enrollment, now considered dual enrollment, students increased by 37 to a total of 187 students. Incoming transfer students in 2012 increased the most, by 126 individuals.
The Coles College of Business and the Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences had the highest enrollment rates in 2021, respectively at 8,241 and 8,567 students each. The Institute for Cyber Security had the lowest enrollment rate at 965 students.
The full 2021 to 2022 Fact Book can be found online on the Office of Institutional Research’s website. The 2011 to 2012 Fact Book is available through their archive.
