Dear Thorobred Family,

This week, Kentucky State University took another important step in our implementation of Senate Bill 185. Following a successful June 8 meeting with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, CPE today approved Kentucky State’s academic transformation proposal at its June 12 Council meeting. Additional implementation details will be shared on the Onward and Upward webpage.

The same information was shared with our Board of Regents this week during its regularly scheduled summer meeting, held June 11-12. Today, the Board also approved the FY27 budget and reviewed the organizational realignment necessary to support the University’s next chapter. We continue to receive support and encouragement from our Regents for the future we are building together.

The progress reflected in these actions has depended on shared governance. Faculty, staff, students, administrators, and Board members have reviewed information, asked questions, offered feedback, and helped Kentucky State make decisions with the seriousness this moment requires. That engagement strengthens the process and helps ensure the choices before us are grounded in mission, student success, and the value of a Kentucky State education.

As part of this work, we shared conservative enrollment assumptions used for FY27 budget planning. For budgeting purposes, Dr. Heather Bigard, vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer, and our finance team used an assumption that enrollment could decline approximately 20 percent by spring 2027 compared with spring 2026. That assumption includes an estimated 9 percent decline from fall 2025 to fall 2026, followed by a decline of about 11 percent from fall 2026 to spring 2027.

Those assumptions are based on enrollment data, student persistence patterns, applications, financial factors, and broader pressures across higher education, including the enrollment cliff, increased competition, affordability concerns, changing student expectations, and declines in some graduate and international student populations. They also account for SB 185’s requirement that students with an outstanding balance to Kentucky State of more than $1,000 for more than 60 days may not enroll or continue in classes unless they are current on a University-approved payment plan.

Let me be clear. These are conservative assumptions for budgeting purposes only, not predetermined outcomes. We hope and intend to exceed them. We will communicate early with students affected by the balance requirement and help those who can resolve balances or establish approved payment plans remain on a path forward.

Responsible budgeting requires careful planning, while our broader work remains focused on strengthening Kentucky State’s mission and value proposition: access and opportunity, and degrees that are worthy investments because they prepare students for successful careers and positive impact in communities across the Commonwealth and beyond.

As Kentucky State marks its 140th anniversary, we are reminded that the University has endured and advanced through persistence, determination, and resilience. Those qualities matter today as much as they ever have. Successful institutions turn challenges into opportunities to become stronger, more focused, and more effective. That is the work already underway at Kentucky State.

Continued support from all of you will keep us moving in the right direction, building the future our students and this University deserves.

Onward and Upward,

Koffi C. Akakpo, Ph.D.
President
Kentucky State University