Freshmen enrollment numbers for Kennesaw State University have increased for the fall 2019 semester, which began Aug. 19 and included a feast on the traditional First Day of School cake during a celebration on the Campus Green.
The school said its preliminary freshman enrollment is around 6,500 students, which is a 30-percent increase from fall 2018. Kennesaw State University’s total enrollment last fall was about 35,400 students, making it one of the largest schools in the University System of Georgia.
University spokeswoman Tammy Demel said it expects student enrollment for fall 2019 to surpass 36,000. Final enrollment numbers will be available in October.
KSU President Pamela Whitten said the school is growing in its reputation as a “destination campus.” That growth has propelled KSU to hire about 100 new faculty members to teach students.
"The success of our students is our primary goal," she said.
"That's why we are focused on increasing engaged learning opportunities for students that enhance what they learn in the classroom, and provide them with experiences that will prepare them for future success."
KSU also used the first day of classes to formally introduce its new logo, mission, values and vision statements and branding strategy to its newest crop of students. The new logo includes overlapping KS letters, and adds “University” to “create one unified logo,” KSU previously said. The KS image is already the well-known insignia of Kennesaw State’s athletic program.
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KSU’s Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing in 2018 began revamping the university’s brand. It spent a year gathering feedback from more than 6,800 students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members.
The university’s new mission reads:
“At Kennesaw State, we serve as a powerful example of the impact a student-centered, research-driven university education can deliver. We help students succeed through exploration, collaboration, and rigor, uniting a diverse spectrum of backgrounds and talents. At KSU, students become the individuals who people want as colleagues and leaders.”
The Kennesaw State University vision states:
“Kennesaw State will exemplify the power and promise of a student-centered, research-driven university. Authentically diverse, uniquely attainable and endlessly impactful, we will unleash the potential in every student we serve.”
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KSU outlines its values as:
•Open: Embracing the true power of openness – valuing and leveraging diverse perspectives to find better solutions and gain an edge.
•Elevational: Raising trajectory – chasing, creating, pursuing, building.
•Student-Inspired: Fueling aspiration and delivering pathways – enabling students to stretch and strive, embrace a dream, and create actionable plans.
•Promise-Fulfilling: Being committed and ready – making promises we can keep to fuel opportunity for every student and spark economic growth for the region.
•Impact-Generating: Delivering a difference – impacting individuals and communities for positive change.
KSU’s branding strategy includes its Find Your Wings campaign, which features a set of owl wings positioned outside the new logo. The wings will be featured throughout the campaign.
Credit: Kennesaw State University
Credit: Kennesaw State University
"The notion of Find Your Wings really expresses our goals and values of making this a place where students, who are the center of our universe, find their inspiration, find their passion, find the things that will drive them to move forward to accomplish their hopes and dreams,” Whitten said.
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