Kennesaw State is celebrating a milestone this semester after its student population swelled to more than 41,000 students, making it the second largest university in Georgia.
KSU’s fall enrollment is 41,181 students, according to numbers released last week by the University System of Georgia. It’s a 9% increase from its enrollment in fall 2019. In 2010, fall enrollment was just 23,000.
Only Georgia State University eclipses Kennesaw State with its enrollment of 53,743 students. Enrollment at other universities are 39,771 at Georgia Tech, 39,147 at the University of Georgia, 26,949 at Georgia Southern University, 19,793 at the University of North Georgia, 13,419 at the University of West Georgia, 12,304 at Valdosta State University and 11,627 at Georgia Gwinnett College.
Kennesaw State reopened to students for the fall semester Aug. 17 after closing in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The university will provide cloth masks to everyone on its two campuses and clean most areas several times a day to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
According to the enrollment report, KSU has 10,111 students who are classified as freshmen. It’s the largest freshman class enrolled in bachelor degree programs in the state, the university said. Other highlights from Kennesaw State about its enrollment include:
- First-generation college students make up 38% of the undergraduate enrollment.
- Women make up 50.4% of students and 49.6% are men.
- Black students represent 24% of the student body.
- Latino students are 12% of the student population.
Despite having more students, Kennesaw State started the fall semester with fewer employees. KSU previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it laid off 24 workers due to a state mandate that the University System of Georgia reduce spending by 10.8% for fiscal year 2021.
KSU spokeswoman Tammy Demel said because the Board of Regents prohibited universities from using mandatory furlough days to meet the 10% cut, the university had to “take the difficult, but necessary step” to reduce its staff positions. Demel said no faculty positions were included in the cut.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Eric Stirgus contributed to this report.
