Almost every Friday on AIKCU.org we feature a new graphic that highlights an important aspect of independent higher education in Kentucky. We’ve missed the last couple weeks, but we’ll resolve to do better when we return in 2010.

This week’s graphic charts Kentucky’s net migration of traditional age freshmen (graduated from high school in the previous 12 months).

The formula here is simply

Net migration = (students into Ky - students going out-of-state)

In 2005-06, that looked like this:

(5,531 out-of-state students came to school in KY) - (2,840 freshmen went out-of-state) = 2,691 net migration

Kentucky’s independent colleges and universities play a crucial role in importing out-of-state students to Kentucky. AIKCU institutions enroll more than 7,000 out-of-state students who don’t receive any taxpayer support.

KY Net Migration (PDF)