Volume 124 Issue 31
kansan.com
Monday, October 3, 2011
Jayhawks have third-quarter blues Three interceptions blow a 20-0 lead PAGES 6-7
RETWEET
Saturday's parade too early for you? See a photo gallery on Kansan.com.
Check it out here: http://udkne.ws/pysphu Don't forget to follow the photo staff on Twitter at UDK_Photo too.
LAWRENCE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
UNIVERSITY
Enrollment rates still dropping
D. M. SCOTT dmscott@kansan.com
PAGE 3
University enrollment numbers continue to fall from a record count in 2008 as a new report by the Kansas Board of Regents indicates a 2.5 percent decline for the 2011 fall semester—a drop off of 744 students.
This current enrollment trend has KU officials searching for solutions.
Matt Melvin, associate vice provost for student success, said that the numbers were disappointing but were not unexpected. Officials evaluate enrollment and retention by "student flow through," which looks at specific cohorts of students and watches how they move through the enrollment process from year to year.
"The enrollment decline is an issue of both recruitment and retention, so it is going to take a broad-based effort across the university to truly address it," said Jack Martin, director of strategic communication.
This process helps officials monitor attrition rates and spot problems areas, such as "sophomore slumps" and "junior jaunts."
"We knew where we stood in terms of enrollment," Melvin said. The "student flow through" becomes an important part of enrollment management. "You can often build enrollment on the back of retention in addition to enhanced recruitment." Melvin said.
The problem rests with the record enrollment of 30,102 in 2008. The freshman classes of 2009 and 2010 were much smaller. As these classes work their way through the system, they negatively impact enrollment numbers because incoming classes can't make up the record difference.
Low enrollment numbers hurt the University in a number of ways.
"First, enrollment declines hurt the brand and make it somewhat harder to attract new students since people want to be affiliated and engaged with a school seemingly on the move as a result of enrollment increases," Melvin said.
Smaller enrollment numbers create inefficiencies due to excess classroom capacity and residence halls. The lack of revenue from tuition dollars also hurts as higher
education receives less state support. To enhance the KU brand, tuition dollars are "critical in allowing us to do what we want and need to do." Melvin said.
Enrollment declines always come at a bad time. Now is especially poignant as the University looks to raise admission standards under the leadership of Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little.
Discussions over the "quality, quantity and diversity" of students must be carefully considered. Melvin said the real question is how the University can successfully predict which students will be academically successful. Currently, the admission criterion admits students that do not have "a high propensity to succeed academically at KU based on their academic background and experience." Melvin said.
Other ways that the University is affected by low enrollment include lower retention and graduation rates, students accumulating loan debt, and spending dollars that the state can't recoup.
"The new renewable scholarships are one way we're enhancing recruitment, while helping students stay at KU and succeed is a key element of the new strategic plan," Martin said.
To increase enrollment, the University will look to better align new students with financial aid and embrace basic enrollment fundamentals, such as speed, service responsiveness and personalization.
"There are not that many revolutionary strategies out there. It is about execution. Hustle is a style and a strategy that can take one a long way in the enrollment game," Melvin said.
Fall 2011 Enrollment
2. 5 percent decline for the 2011 fall semester—a drop off of 744 students.
Edited by Josh Kantor
Emporia State University -4.6 percent (-286 students)
Enrollment rate percentages across Kansas
Fort Hays State University 7.7 percent (919 students)
Kansas State University 1.2 percent 275 students)
University of Kansas -2.5 percent (-744 students)
Pittsburgh State University 2.0 percent (144 students)
Washburn University 1.2 percent (99 students)
Wichita State University 2.0 percent (294 students)
Johnson County Community College .8 percent (164 students)
For more information, visit: www.kansasregents.org/board_ announces_2011_fall_semester_enrollment
Source: The Kansas Board of Regents
PRANK
Students steal letter from Georgia Tech
This college prank is brought to you by the letter 'T' and the students at Georgia Tech.
The letter 'T' is disappearing from signs all over campus, costing the school more than $100,000 in repairs. Officials at the school in Atlanta are asking students to knock it off.
Undergraduate President Eile Creel tells Fox 5 Atlanta the tradition of stealing the 'T off Tech Tower began in the 1960s. But this new ritual involves taking a 'T from everything from stadium signs to book return bins in front of the campus library.
Student Katie Simmons says many buildings have been deformed, and a T has already been stolen off a new building.
Associated Press
Student leaders recently launched an amnesty program to try and retrieve some of the letters.
The article "Religious groups provide support for students" in Wednesday's Kansan had an incorrect byline. The story was written by Alexa Rush.
CORRECTONS
The article "Kansas' odds of winning seem slim" in Thursday's Kansan had an incorrect byline. The story was written by Mike Vernon.
ZANE L. TODD, JR.
ATTORNEY AT LAW
FREE CONSULTATION ON ALL CRIMINAL & TRAFFIC MATTERS
PHONE 913.254.9241
FAX 913.764.5539
EMAIL ZaneToddJr@hotmail.com
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GE 3
student authors offer insight, advice on amateur publishing
KELSEY CIPOLLA
kcipolla@kansan.com
While some students refused to shave or looked forward to celebrating the holidays last November, Jason Held, a senior from Minneapolis, wrote a novel. For writers across the country November is National Novel Writing Month, an online contest that challenges participants to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Held initially had no intention of participating, but other members of the Jayhawk-Writers on Campus group, or I-WOC, convinced him to participate in the arduous contest.
His book, "The Write Message," follows a 15-year-old boy who hires a literary agent and pursues a publishing deal while trying to balance high school, the challenges of the industry and familial loss. Select chapters of the protagonist's own writing are also included.
"You have to go in there knowing what your book is going to be about," Held said. "I didn't have a complete outline for it, but I knew what it was about."
J-WOC teamed up with KU
"We teamed up with Hewlett-Packard a year ago to start this project and they gave us grant money to come up with ideas to encourage printing on campus," said Rachel Barnes, the KU Bookstores custom material specialist. "What we came up with was the book contest."
Bookstores to incentivize competing in the contest. Participants who met the 50,000 word minimum would have a chance to publish their book.
After months of editing and revising, Held's book was finally ready for publication. The Print-
"We were serving as a small scale publisher for him," said Barnes. The bookstore also coordinated selling the book in the store and through Amazon.
On-Demand center, which allows students, faculty, and community members to print and bind their own works, helped produce "The Write Message."
Julie Honn, outreach and communications officer for J-WOC and a senior from Lenexa, said Held's success is encouraging to other student writers.
"It shows that it's achievable, to achieve that balance and achieve
CLASSIFIEDS 11
CROSSWORD 4
Although the novel was published last April, Held is still shocked to have actually published a book.
that dream" Honn said. "That's what everybody who writes does it for, that I hope somebody reads this someday."
"It's a really strange feeling," he said. "I almost couldn't believe it, but I knew it was my story. I knew I wrote it. I had spent months on it."
Held will discuss his book today at 5 p.m. at Jayhawk Ink inside the Kansas Union. There will also be a panel discussion with other
CRYPTOQUIPS 4
OPINION 5
SPORTS 12
SUDOKU 4
Edited by Josh Kantor
Student Author Reading Jason Held will read from and discuss his new novel "The Write Message."
Monday October 8, 201
5:00pm - 6:30pm
Ticket Cost: Free
student writers about students' writing experiences.
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2011 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget
Don't forget to floss! October is National Dental Hygiene Month.
Today's weather
Forecasts done by University students. For a more detailed forecast, see page 2A.
HI: 85
LO: 43
米
Last call for jean shorts