Putting students first — in words and in action Campus Message

Campus Community,

It is no coincidence that “Putting Students First” is the first principle in UK’s strategic plan. If we are to advance Kentucky, our students must remain our top priority.

As with the other principles in that plan, I want to share an update on our progress in turning those words into meaningful action and results. I also want to preview how we are enhancing our efforts to prepare students not only for careers, but for lives of meaning and purpose.

Our progress is reflected in a number of important outcomes:

• Enrollment has increased by more than 10,000 students over the past 15 years meaning more students are being educated and supported by our outstanding faculty and staff.
• Our six-year graduation rate — the standard measure in higher education — has reached 72%, the highest in our history and among the strongest for institutions like ours. This represents an increase of nearly 10 percentage points over the past decade.
• Nearly 10,000 degrees and credentials were conferred in 2025, a significant increase over 15 years ago.
• Financial aid — grants and scholarships that do not have to be repaid — has more than tripled over the past 15 years, reaching nearly $190 million last academic year.
• Last fall more than 90% of Kentucky undergraduate students received financial aid. On average, those students paid less than $500 out of pocket for tuition and fees in fall 2025.
• Tuition and fees will increase by less than 2 percent in 2026–27, continuing a trend of modest increases. The four-year average increase is now 2.5%.
• As a result, the average debt for Kentucky undergraduates has decreased by more than $4,000 over the past five years. Today, more than half of those students graduate without debt.

You can read more about these outcomes — and the success you have made possible — in a recent presentation to state policymakers. 

These results reflect how we are fulfilling our mission to advance Kentucky: by preparing a larger, more skilled and more adaptable workforce to support the state’s growth and vitality.

At the same time, as the economy evolves, new challenges and expectations continue to emerge. Policymakers, families and students are increasingly — and appropriately —asking how we are preparing graduates not just for their first job, but for long-term careers that require a broad and evolving set of skills.

This question is at the heart of a new workforce initiative we will launch this fall. Across nearly every field, students will need both specialized knowledge and the ability to adapt as industries and opportunities change.

Through this initiative, we are focused on:

• Understanding workforce trends: Identifying which industries and careers are growing — and are likely to continue growing — in Kentucky.
• Creating clear pathways: Building connections across colleges and disciplines to better prepare students for those careers. For example, careers in health or finance require technical expertise, but also skills in critical thinking, communication and collaboration.
• Building industry partnerships: Ensuring students have the opportunity to connect their skills and education to a network of careers in their industry of choice.
• Developing thematic areas: Aligning programs and pathways around key sectors such as health, policy, energy, sports and business so students can navigate opportunities that match both their interests and the state’s needs, regardless of major.

We will share more details this fall as we begin a new academic year. I am excited about this effort because it reflects our continued commitment to innovation in how we prepare students for success — and, in doing so, how we advance Kentucky.

I know you share my immense pride in this progress on behalf of our students, whose success is so critical to Kentucky’s future. 

These results, and this trajectory, takes everyone working together. As always, it starts with a world-class faculty committed to the creation of knowledge but also conveying it to the next generation who will apply what they have learned to challenges and solutions. 

It also involves an entire campus community dedicated to the same mission -— from the public safety, grounds and maintenance crews who ensure our campus is safe and attractive to first-time visitors to our integrated advising system that works seamlessly and efficiently to ensure students successfully navigate their academic careers.

Everyone has a hand. Everyone plays a part. Together, we make a difference for students and families and in our mission to advance Kentucky.

Eli Capilouto
President