Rockhurst Enrollment, Student Retention Up Across the Board

Initial enrollment for the fall 2023 semester shows growth across nearly student group at Rockhurst University along with the highest student retention rate since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The University performs a census of its students after the eight day of the semester, and those initial counts for fall 2023 indicate growth in first-time college, transfer and graduate student enrollment at Rockhurst.

The number of first-time college students — traditional freshman — was up 19% over the previous year; the number of transfer students was up slightly; and the number of graduate students grew by nearly 70%, with that total population growing from 260 students in fall 2022 to 441 for fall 2023, fueled in part by an expanding number of online offerings and popular programs such as the online Ed.D. Combined, the number of new students at Rockhurst grew by 36% from fall 2022 to fall 2023, or from 659 to 898.

That’s great news, said Sandra Cassady, Ph.D., University president and CEO.

“We always welcome our new Hawks with open arms, and we’re especially happy to welcome more of them to Rockhurst this fall,” she said. “I applaud the continued efforts of this entire University community to constantly build and share the transformative power of Catholic, Jesuit education. It is that commitment to excellence and purpose that inspires students to choose Rockhurst.”

Along with the number of new students, the University also posted its highest student retention rate since 2019, with 84.2% of the freshman class from fall 2022 returning this fall. There are a lot of reasons students decide to come back. So University staff and faculty have continued to build and launch new programs like Hawks Scholars, during which new students identified as first-generation, having high financial need or who are otherwise historically underrepresented come to campus early for an orientation aimed at making their first year a success, and redesigned existing efforts like the Manresa course for first-year students, to better meet the needs of the current generation of students.

Sara Keenan, director of the Aylward Dunn Learning Center on campus, said the transition from high school to college coursework can be hard. But across the board, she said students who take advantage of the supplemental instructors and tutors the Learning Center offers often report in surveys that they feel better prepared for that transition, something that is also reflected in their grades. One of the most important lessons for students, she said, is to know that they don’t have to do it alone.

“Asking for help is the very best thing you can do for yourself,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to ask if you need academic assistance, help with adjusting to college, ideas on how to get involved, or even directions to your classroom.”

Equally important is ensuring new students find ways to feel connected to campus and to one another. Emma Garrett, director of student life, said through both orientation and Welcome Week activities, they hope to give students a foundation to build on when it comes to finding a network of friends, activities that reflect their passions and a connection to help when they need it.

“We really look at ourselves as a bridge to help students find their home here,” she said. “We not only connect students with student organizations or talk about how they want to get involved, but we can also connect them to resources that help them be successful in the classroom.”