Friday, February 19, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Enrollment figures inch upward from last year's records
By Kristi Reimer
Kansan staff writer
Enrollment at the University of Kansas this semester barely nudged upward from last spring with an increase of 83 students, or 0.3 percent.
The Board of Regents released its enrollment figures yesterday, which were finalized after the 20th day of classes and reflected fluctuations at Regents schools. The combined enrollment for all University of Kansas campuses was 26,297.
Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, associate provost, said small enrollment increases were ideal.
"It's easier for us to manage if it's stable," she said. "That means we can predict things like class size and residence hall rooms. We budget based on stability."
Although enrollment is up from last spring, 1,328 students, or 5 percent, left the University after last fall. A drop between the fall and spring semester is normal, McCluskev-Fawcett said.
"Some of those are students who
were dismissed for academic reasons; some graduated," she said. "Sometimes people leave for financial or personal reasons, or a freshman discovers this just isn't the place for her."
But this year more students staved than usual, she said.
"Typically we retain 92 to 95 percent, so the good news is that we're on the high end of that," she said.
She said one reason retention may be improving was that new student advising and orientation was much more detailed and more focused on academics.
"We'll see the real impact of that in the fall when we see if they come back for their sophomore year," McCluskey-Fawcett said.
All Regents institutions
Up 409 to 76,036
KU Medical Center
Up 31 to 2,397
Fort Hoyes State University
Up 198 to 5,418
Pittsburg State University
Up 11 to 5,960
Kansas State University
Up 169 to 17,827
Wichita State University
Down 1 to 14,208
Emporia State University
Down 77 to 5,148
University of Kansas
Up 52 to 23,900
Headcount comparison by institution
The University's 20th-day figures
Jason Williams/KANSAN
reflected total Regents enrollment.
Spring 1999 enrollment at all
Regents universities increased by
409 students to 76,036, a 0.5 percent
increase from spring 1998, when
75,627 students were enrolled.
"That's fairly constant," said Barbara Conant, communications director for the Board of Regents.
She said individual campuses could use the enrollment numbers to predict patterns in coming years.
"KU is going to be able to look at law-school trends and med-school trends, things unique to that particular campus," Conant said.
Enrollment for the Lawrence campus, the Edwards Campus in Overland Park and the Capitol Complex in Topeka was 23,900 students this year, compared to 23,848 in 1998.
At the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., 2,397 students enrolled this year, compared to 2,366 in spring 1998.
All but two Regents universities showed increases. Fort Hays State University gained the most at 198 students, a 3.8 percent increase. Wichita State University lost 1 student and Emporia State University lost 77, or 1.5 percent.
Edited by Liz Wristen
Chancellor defends KU's stance toward GTAs
Students and faculty debate campus issues at town hall meeting
By Nadia Mustafa
Kanson staff writer
Chancellor Robert Hemenway defended the administration's stance on state legislation regarding Graduate Teaching Assistants last night at a town hall meeting.
Mark Horowitz, Springfield, Mass., graduate student and former president of the GTA coalition, said that the coalition was devastated by the administration's support last semester of a bill that did not uphold GTAs' public employee collective bargaining rights.
He said he wanted Hemenway to promise that he would not support legislation that eliminated GTAs' status as public employees.
"People who are in a position of power like the Chancellor end up
catering to interests that do not necessarily represent students," Horowitz said.
Hemenway said that the administration did not support any bill that eliminated GTAs' public employee status but that he did support a bill regarding health care for GTAs.
He said that GTAs were important to the University of Kansas and that there should not be any animosity between GTAC administrators.
"The administration was not in favor of the GTA union, but that's water under the bridge," Hemenway said. "We should move beyond last year because we disagree about what the University did or did not do. We should instead focus on building a successful relationship."
Ophra Leyser, GTAC co-president said that GTAC had requested time to inform GTAs about the coalition at their orientations for several years, but had been denied repeatedly by the administration.
She said that if Hemenway
wanted to improve the administration's relationship with the coalition, he should grant them the request.
Hemenway said it was a complex issue because GTA orientation was supposed to be only an academic experience.
But he said that because of the right to free assembly, a possible compromise could be to allow the coalition to set up an informative table at orientation.
"We must separate official union activities from University academic activities." Hemenway said.
About 35 students and five faculty members or administrators attended the meeting.
Hemenway said that the University should focus its efforts to provide public services to Kansas residents and create a better learning environment so the campus would not run the risk of becoming obsolete in the future compared to Internet-based education.
he also said that all four KU cames should act as one University
to achieve energy and efficiency.
Kevin Yoder, student body president, said Student Senate had been working on parking, fall break, campus safety, online enrollment, Kansas Union additions, recreation and city and state issues.
Hemenway said that he was in favor of the keg registration law.
Yoder said that he did not think the University should be able to contact students' parents about alcohol offenses.
Both Hemenway and Yoder said they wanted to implement an online enrollment system as soon as possible.
Hemenway reconfirmed the integrity of the University's non-discrimination policy's inclusion of a sexual orientation clause.
Other issues discussed at the meeting included physical renovations to campus, student input in contracts between the University and corporations and the amount of financial aid awarded to National Merit Scholars.
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